While the Congress alleged that the Modi government was indulging in political vendetta, the Bharatiya Janata Party claimed that it is a legal matter.
The apex court also banned the media from publishing content of orders passed by Justice Karnan on Monday night by which he "sentenced" Chief Justice of India J S Khehar and seven other judges of the Supreme Court to five years rigorous imprisonment.
Former Board of Control for Cricket in India chief Sharad Pawar wants Justice J N Patel, who is part of a three-man probe panel set up by the Board to investigate the IPL corruption scandal, to come clean on his reported links with the body's interim president, Shivlal Yadav. He also deprecated the presence of former India captain Ravi Shastri on the inquiry committee, citing conflict of interest.
Cutting across party lines, legislators on Wednesday voiced reservation on the Supreme Court judgement making gay sex a criminal offence.
The world is still figuring out the man as he continues his enigmatic journey towards the first 100 days of his presidency.
We sorted through countless photographs taken around the world to come up with the top photos of 2019. Together these images tell the story of the year -- capturing moments of hope and heartbreak, triumph and tragedy.
Rahul exuded confidence that his party will emerge victorious in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh assembly polls and defeat the BJP in the 2019 general polls.
'You can't go on creating division and rhetoric of hate.' 'It comes to roost. We are seeing the first glimpses of that in the state elections.'
'The only quality required in this tenure is to be the military's yes man and that he has the capacity to do so.'
The gross bad debt of the Indian banking system as of March was at Rs 7.11 lakh crore
'Is this the message that India wants to send to Kashmir?'
'It is from her that present-day political stalwarts continue to draw lessons on testing the limits of Constitutional democracy, and whose slogans even her party's staunchest opponents imitate even after over 30 years of her death,' says Veenu Sandhu.
One of the urgent tasks ahead for the new government should be to improve public trust in the executive.
The meeting between the two leaders lasted about 20 minutes.
'The prime minister has merely paid lip service condemning these crimes instead of launching a massive crackdown against such brutalities,' argues Professor Mohammad Sajjad.
Instead of a consumption stimulus the government must address the NPA issue with a war footing and invest in infrastructure, affordable housing and exports, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
The Delhi Police had closed this case in 1994 for want of evidence.
Political parties and social activists on Saturday protested police action against a Goan youth, who had allegedly posted comments against prime minister designate Narendra Modi on Facebook in March when the Lok Sabha campaign was on.
'Imran Khan hopes to fulfill the dreams of the founders of of Pakistan in establishing an Islamic Welfare State.' 'The grave situation of the economy makes realisation of this dream very difficult,' points out Colonel R N Ghosh Dastidar (retd).
'I know most of the politicians in this country and I know how fair-weather friends they can be.' 'If they get defeated in elections, they will blame it upon something that cannot respond to their allegations like the EVMs.'
Coal industry expert Sunjoy Joshi tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com that the NDA's e-auction of coal blocks will not solve the fundamental problems that dog the industry.
'Members of the legal fraternity say Yakub Memon cooperated more than what investigators could have ever hoped for, providing information about Dawood Ibrahim and Yakub's elder brother 'Tiger' Memon, the masterminds behind the planning and execution of the Mumbai serial blasts.'
'Modi swept the 2014 elections for two main reasons: First, the disgust with the Congress government with a non-functional prime minister, and second, more importantly, his promise of performance and hope.' 'He cannot expect to win 2019 on these planks again. His own success in finishing the Congress will take away one plank, and with five years of reign on his CV, he will need to flaunt performance more than promise.'
Saroj Kumar Rath, author of the newly-published book Fragile Frontiers: The Secret History of Mumbai Terror Attacks, speaks to Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa.
A curative petition is the last judicial resort available for redressal of grievances in court which is normally decided by judges in-chamber. In rare cases, such petitions are given an open court hearing.
The HC said that it is a fit case where benefit of doubt can be given to the appellants.
'At least 6,000 people attended a meal at Shahabuddin's residence in a feast to celebrate his bail. As if the community has no other priorities of channelising such funds for better purposes!,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
Jeff Sessions, a close confidant of US President Donald Trump, was on Thursday confirmed to be the next attorney general, after a historically tumultuous process that saw the senator come under fire for his views on race and civil rights.
'India has both the wherewithal and the will to fight the enemy, but is living in a make believe world of its own since it is yet to accept that it is indeed at war,' says military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Question remains, what happens when the overseeing committees' members themselves are questioned by investigative agencies?
Senior United States lawmakers told a Capitol Hill conference that India was crucial for stability in Afghanistan and the region as US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces prepare to withdraw from that war ravaged country.
From the Aadhaar verdict to #MeToo's arrival in the country to the entry into the Sabarimala temple -- India had a newsworthy 2018. As we step into 2019, these are the top moments from the year gone by.
A Supreme Court advocate and an Indian Institute of Technology Delhi alumnus, Somnath Bharti is convinced that he is today in a position to transform the judicial system of the country. Somesh Jha reports
'We expect mobs on the subcontinent to hand out punishment without trial.' 'To have ministers doing it and then being proud about it says something about how the law is treated in India and how seriously ministers take their oath of office,' says Aakar Patel.
In any controversy, the participants cannot decide who is right or wrong. A democracy has a process in place to settle these disputes: the judiciary. Dinanath Batra in true democratic fashion availed of that opportunity citizen and Penguin's decision was the outcome of a legitimate legal battle, says Vivek Gumaste.
He recalled that democracy-lovers had fought a big battle against the Emergency.
"My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency," Trump said.
'My enduring memory of Lula is personal,' says Ambassador B S Prakash, our former envoy in Brazil. 'He was visiting India after retirement to accept an award.' 'At a private dinner in the Brazilian ambassador's residence, where I too was present, he was missing at the end of the evening.' 'We all went looking for him in the sprawling house to find him eventually in the kitchen talking happily to the cooks and servers.' 'He was thanking them for the excellent meal and service!'
'A dangerous and false binary is now surfacing in Indian political discourse, which must be firmly rejected.' 'It is that we have to choose between freedom and development.' 'For us freedom is neither merely an instrument for development nor to be subordinated to development.' 'It is, as our founding fathers proclaimed early in our freedom struggle, 'our birthright' on which we shall never compromise.' 'Growth, wealth and development are fruits of democracy, not substitutes.' Dr Manmohan Singh's thoughts on democracy: A Must Read!
