Month: May 2022

After nearly a week, India witnessed a drop from the 3,000 mark in the tally of daily COVID-19 cases on Tuesday as the country reported 2,288 fresh infections in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

With this, active COVID cases in the country stand at 19,637, constituting 0.05 per cent of India’s total positive cases.
As per the Ministry, the weekly positivity rate of COVID in India currently stands at 0.79 per cent, while the daily positivity rate was reported to be 0.47 per cent.

In the last 24 hours, 3,044 patients recovered from the virus, taking the cumulative tally of recovered patients, since the beginning of the pandemic, to 4,25,63,949.

As many as 10 COVID deaths were also reported in the last 24 hours.

A total of 4,84,843 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, raising the cumulative tests in the country to over 84.15 crore (84,15,14,701).

India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 190.50 crore (1,90,50,86,706) as per provisional reports till 7 am today. “This has been achieved through 2,37,09,334 sessions,” the Ministry said. (ANI)

In the wake of the explosion at Punjab Police’s intelligence headquarters building in Mohali, Central intelligence agencies have swung into action.

Central intelligence agencies like the Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Military Intelligence (MI) and intelligence Wing of Border Security Force (BSF) have intensified their operations to gather details into the incident.
A senior official associated with a Central intelligence agency said that it is suspected that a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) was used in the attack and it is an unusual thing. “In the past grenade attacks have happened but the use of RPGs is worrying for everyone,” said a senior official.

“On May 9, Himachal Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) had issued an alert in the state in the view of Khalistani elements in Neighbouring states and the hosting of banners and graffiti of Khalistan on the outer boundary of Vidhan Sabha,” he said.

He further said that Punjab Police has also issued an alert after the blast in Mohali. But instead of written communication, they have verbally communicated to all Police officers to be on alert, the official added.

According to Mohali police, a minor explosion was reported at the Punjab Police Intelligence Headquarters in sector 77 at around 7:45 pm.

“No damage has been reported. Senior officers rushed to the spot and an investigation is being done. Forensic teams have been called,” the police said.

On May 8, two persons were held in the Taran Taran district of Punjab. Police recovered an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) equipped with RDX packed in a metallic box weighing over 2.5 kg from the two arrested.

On May 5, four terror suspects were arrested in Karnal, Haryana and police had recovered three IEDs weighing 2.5 kg each from their possession. (ANI)

The Central government on Monday informed the Supreme Court that it has decided to re-examine and reconsider the provisions of Section 124A which criminalises the offence of sedition and requested it not to take up the case till the matter is examined by the government.

In a fresh affidavit, the Centre said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is of the firm view that the baggage of colonial-era laws, which outlived their utility, must be scrapped during the period of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ (75 years of independence).

In that spirit, the government of India has scrapped over 1,500 outdated laws since 2014-15, it said.

“It has also ended over 25,000 compliance burdens which were causing unnecessary hurdles to the people of our country. Various offences which were causing mindless hindrances to people have been de-criminalised. This is an ongoing process. These were laws and compliances which reeked of a colonial mindset and thus have no place in today’s India,” the Centre said.

“The Centre being fully cognizant of various views being expressed on the subject of sedition and also having considered the concerns of civil liberties and human rights, while committed to maintain and protect the sovereignty and integrity of this great nation, has decided to reexamine and reconsider the provisions of Section 124A of the IPC which can be done only before the competent forum,” the affidavit said while requesting the apex court to await the outcome of the Centre’s exercise to re-examine Section 124A.

On the other hand, the Central government on Saturday told the Supreme Court that the 1962 verdict of the five-judge Constitution bench case which upheld the validity of the offence of sedition under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, is binding and continues to be is a “good law and needs no reconsideration”.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, in the written submissions on Saturday said that the 1962 five-judge bench judgement of the top court in Kedar Nath Singh v/s State of Bihar case which upheld the validity of Section 124A of IPC has stood the test of time and applied till date in tune with modern constitutional principles.

“It is a settled position in law that a judgment which withstood the test of time and has been followed not mechanically but in the context of changing circumstances cannot be easily doubted,” the Central government had submitted.

It said the 1962 verdict is a good precedent and that it requires no consideration and isolated instances of misuse cannot be a ground to uproot the precedent that has withstood the test of time for over six decades.

The Centre further submitted that a three-judge bench cannot hear a legal challenge to the Constitutionality of Section 124A.

Only a bench of co-equal strength of Kedar Nath Singh can pose any doubts on the verdict, the Centre stated while adding that thus, for reconsideration of Kedar Nath Singh judgement, the matter will have to be referred to a bench of five judges or more.

“The Kedar Nath Singh judgement has been the law of the land for more than six decades. The judgment balances constitutional rights and principles viz. needs of the State, to provide a reasonable interpretation,” it had added.

The response of the Central government was filed on a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the sedition law.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana had said that it will first decide the issue of whether the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Section 124A will be referred to the larger bench or not.

The bench had posted the matter for hearing on May 10 for arguments on referrals of the petitions to the larger bench and had also granted the last opportunity to the Centre to file its affidavit on the pleas.

Earlier, Attorney General of India KK Venugopal had told the Supreme Court that the sedition law should not be struck down but there is a need for guidelines on this section. What is permissible and what is impermissible and what can come under sedition need to be seen, said the Attorney General.

Venugopal while defending the constitutional validity of Section 124A and the Kedar Nath Singh judgement said that it is a well-thought-out one and needs to be upheld.

Venugopal had argued that the misuse of sedition law has been brought under control.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for one of the petitioners, submitted that many people are in jail due to the provision and it needs to be struck down since it was a colonial law to protect their rule in India.

He had added, “We are in free India and we are not serving any masters. Each day a journalist or someone else spends time in jail due to this then how is it fair? We are not subjects of the crown anymore.”

Various petitions were filed in the apex court challenging the constitutional validity of sedition law. The pleas were filed by former army officer Major-General SG Vombatkere (Retd), former Union minister Arun Shourie, NGO PUCL, Editors Guild of India, and Journalists Patricia Mukhim and Anuradha Bhasin among others.

Last year, CJI Ramana questioned the Central government on the requirement of sedition law even after 75 years of independence and observed that it was colonial law that was used against freedom fighters.

While pointing out that sedition law was used against freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the apex court had asked Attorney General KK Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, why it can’t be replaced.

It had observed that the Centre has repealed many stale laws and enquired why the government is not looking into repealing Section 124A (which deals with the offence of sedition) of the IPC.

It had further said that the court was concerned about the misuse of such laws.

Chief Justice of India had also said that the apex court will look into the plea challenging the Constitutional validity of section 124A while adding that the “situation on the ground is grave… if one party does not like what the other is saying, Section 124A is used… It is a serious threat to the functioning of individuals and parties.”

CJI had said, “use of sedition is like giving a saw to the carpenter to cut a piece of wood and he uses it to cut the entire forest itself”.

The top court had further told Attorney General that the conviction rate under Section 124A is very low.

Major-General Vombatkere (Retd) challenged the Constitutional validity of the sedition law on the ground that it causes a “chilling effect” on speech and is an unreasonable restriction on free expression, a fundamental right.

Arun Shourie sought direction to declare the sedition law unconstitutional arguing that it is “heavily abused”. Shourie in his plea had said that cases are being filed against citizens for “exercising their freedom of speech and expression”.

Section 124-A (sedition) under the IPC is a non-bailable provision.

Earlier, a different bench of the top court had sought a response from the Centre on a plea challenging the Constitutional validity of sedition law, filed by two journalists — Kishorechandra Wangkhemcha and Kanhaiya Lal Shukla — working in Manipur and Chhattisgarh respectively. (ANI)

Sri Lanka Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s residence in the city of Kurunegala in the north-western province was set on fire on Monday, hours after the leader tendered his resignation to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, as the country goes through an intensified civil strife amid a crippling economic crisis.

Earlier today, anti-government protesters also set on fire the official residences of Sri Lanka’s Moratuwa Mayor Saman Lal Fernando and the MPs Sanath Nishantha, Ramesh Pathirana, Mahipala Herath, Thissa Kuttiarachchi and Nimal Lanza.

A large number of protesters including the Inter-University Students Federation (IUSF) were out on the streets and attacked the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna MPs. Even some Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) offices were set ablaze, Daily Mirror reported.

Moreover, two people were shot dead and five others were left injured at the residence of the Chairman of the Weeraketiya Pradeshiya Sabha, local police informed.

The developments come, even as the Prime Minister tendered his resignation and has called for the formation of an all-party interim government to handle the ongoing economic crisis in the country.

The military has been deployed on the roads to maintain calm despite an island-wide curfew, reported Daily Mirror.

The developments come even as nationwide protests against the government have intensified over the past few days resulting in an increase in incidents of clashes with the security forces deployed at protest sites.

More than a hundred protestors were injured on Monday at the Galle Face protest site during violent clashes resulting in a nationwide curfew in the country.

“While emotions are running high in #lka, I urge our general public to exercise restraint and remember that violence only begets violence. The economic crisis we’re in needs an economic solution which this administration is committed to resolving,” Mahinda Rajapaksa said in a tweet shortly before resigning earlier today.

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence with food and fuel shortages, soaring prices and power cuts affecting a large number of the citizens, resulting in massive protests over the government’s handling of the situation.

The recession is attributed to foreign exchange shortages caused by a fall in tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as reckless economic policies, like the government’s move last year to ban chemical fertilizers in a bid to make Sri Lanka’s agriculture “100 per cent organic”.

Due to an acute shortage of foreign exchange, Sri Lanka recently defaulted on the entirety of its foreign debt amounting to about USD 51 billion.

The economic situation has led to huge protests with demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. (ANI)

Highlighting the role of census in policymaking of the country, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday announced that the next census will be an e-census that will be more scientific and 100 per cent perfect.

The Union Home Minister inaugurated the newly-constructed census office in Assam’s Amingaon. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was also present during the event.

He said the construction of the Census Bhawan in Assam will help in the census of the entire Northeast and in the quality assessment of vital data.

Speaking at the occasion, Shah said, “The census has an important role in policymaking. The Ministry of Home Affairs has decided that the census will be made scientific, accurate and multidimensional through modern technology and arrangements will be made for the analysis of its data.”

He said this will be a perfect census, on the basis of which a roadmap for development over the next 25 years will be drawn.

“Decisions that are taken on the basis of empirical data are targeted for results, therefore to create empirically proven data, we have decided that the next census that was stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic will be an e-Census, a 100 per cent perfect census,” Shah said.

He said a census can only point out where there is lesser development, what is the status of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, and the type of life people have in villages, towns and cities.

“We are going to prepare a new software and provision has been made to add the birth-death register in the software, in the coming days we are going to use it in multi-faceted ways too. As soon as a child is born, the information along with the birth date of the child will go into the back information of the Census Register, after attaining the age of 18, this person will be registered as a voter in the voter list from the office of the Census Registrar, ” said the Union Home Minister.

In the Civil Registration System (CRS), the government has set a target of 100 per cent registration by 2024, every birth and death will be registered by 2024 and the census will be updated automatically, he informed.

Earlier on Monday, Shah, inaugurated newly constructed Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) buildings through a virtual live stream at the Registrar General of India Building, Amingaon, Guwahati.

During his visit, he also visited RTC Salonibari and 37th Bn Mangaldoi and took stock of the security preparedness. He also briefed about the security-related challenges and problems being faced by jawans in course of their duty. He further reviewed the status on matters related to corruption, prevention of narcotics smuggling and welfare of jawans. (ANI)

Independent MP from Amravati Navneet Rana, who is currently on bail, on Monday called senior Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut a ‘Popat’ while adding that she will file FIR against Raut for allegedly threatening to “bury her 20 feet deep”.

“I was openly threatened by a goon-like Rajya Sabha MP. I will go and file FIR against ‘Popat’ like Sanjay Raut who said that he will bury me 20-feet deep. He said the materials for my final rites have been sent to the crematorium. This kind of language has been used by Sanjay Raut against me. These kinds of persons are called ‘Popat’ in Maharashtra,” Rana told media persons.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Police filed an application in court stating that MP Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana violated the bail condition by their statements and their bail is cancelled as per the bail orders. Police sought a non-bailable warrant against the couple.

Following this, Mumbai Sessions Court issued a notice to the Rana couple seeking their say on why a non-bailable warrant should not be issued against them as they have allegedly violated the conditions of the bail given to them. The court ordered the couple to file their reply by May 18.

Mumbai’s session Court on Wednesday granted bail to the Ranas who were arrested after they declared that they would recite Hanuman Chalisa outside Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s residence.

After her release from Byculla Jail on Thursday, Navneet Rana was admitted to Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai for a medical check-up. She underwent an MRI scan and a full body checkup at Lilavati Hospital on Saturday after she complained of pain in the chest, neck, and different parts of the body as well as spondylitis.

Rana couple got bail from the court after staying 12 days in jail. While granting bail, the court had also put several conditions, violating which the bail was subject to be cancelled. One of such conditions was that Navneet Rana and her husband could not issue any statement in the media regarding the case.

However, Navneet Rana spoke to the media as soon as she was discharged from the hospital and gave a statement regarding her arrest.

The MP-MLA couple was arrested on April 23 from their Mumbai residence after they declared that they would recite Hanuman Chalisa outside Uddhav Thackeray’s home in Bandra.

The two were booked in two FIRs lodged on charges of sedition, promoting enmity, and assaulting a public servant to prevent discharge of duty. (ANI)

Actor Sonakshi Sinha on Monday shared a social media post flaunting her huge ring which left netizens and many actors wondering, ‘is she engaged?

The Bollywood diva, on Monday morning, took to her Instagram handle and shared a series of pictures of herself, in which she can be seen posing next to a man while flaunting her huge diamond ring.

While some media outlets reported that the picture represents to be a promotional campaign for a jewellery brand, others have stated that she got engaged to her rumoured boyfriend, actor Zaheer Iqbal.

The ‘Dabangg’ star shared three photos in total, and all three of them had the same caption. She wrote, “BIG day for me!!! One of my biggest dreams is coming truuuue… and I cant wait to share it with YOUUUU. Can’t believe it was SO EZI!!!”

In the first photo, Sonakshi smiles and shows off a large diamond on her finger. She was also holding a man’s hand, whose face is not visible in the frame.

In the second, without revealing the man’s face, Sonakshi rested her hands and face on his shoulder.

In the last photo, she poses hiding her cheerful smile and showing off her bust.

As soon as the actor posted the pictures, her fans started asking her if she got engaged or not. Many industry actors congratulated her on her post.

Neha Dhupia commented, “congratulations Sona @aslisona,” while newlywed Shibani Dandekar-Akhtar wrote, “Congrats Sona so much love.”

One fan asked, as if it was a publicity campaign and wrote “Not buying it, seems like there’s more to this,” while another said, “Publicity gimmick, pakka.”

Meanwhile, on the work front, Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal will be next seen in the film ‘Double XL’ which also stars Huma Qureshi. (ANI)

The initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has been subscribed 2.92 times till late afternoon on Monday, the last day of the bidding.

Against the 16.2 crore equity shares offered for sale, bids have been received for over 47 crore equity shares. Policyholders have led the subscription. The portion reserved for policyholders has been subscribed nearly six times. Employees’ portion has been subscribed 4.3 times.

The share reserved for retail investors has received nearly double the bids.

Policyholders and employees are offered discounts in the country’s largest IPO. Policyholders are offered a discount of Rs 60 per equity share, while retail investors and employees are offered a discount of Rs 45 on each share.

The country’s largest insurer LIC has set its price band for the Initial Public Offer (IPO) at Rs 902 to Rs 949 per equity share.

The portion reserved for qualified institutional buyers has been subscribed 2.83 times. Non-institutional investors’ portion has been subscribed 2.88 times. The majority of the subscription bids are from domestic institutions. There has been a poor response from foreign institutional investors (FIIs).

The country’s largest IPO opened for public subscription on May 4. It is scheduled to close on Monday at 7 pm. (ANI)

Showing zero tolerance towards the menace of drugs, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday directed the police force to launch a major crackdown on drug peddlers and also tighten the noose around any political functionary interfering with its anti-drug campaign.

The chief minister chaired a high-level meeting of the Special Task Force (STF) with senior police officers of all districts through video conferencing here at his official residence, the press release from Chief Minister’s Office, Punjab said.
Mann unequivocally said that neither political persons nor officers would be spared at any cost if found conniving with the drug mafia.

He, however, asked the police officers to work freely without any political pressure with a sharpened focus to make Punjab a drug free state.

The Chief Minister said, “To my mind, some police officers might have been working earlier under certain compulsions but all the officers are not alike. However, a few drug peddlers might have got political patronage in the past but now this shall not happen and all of you should work fearlessly in a direction to wipe out the slur of drugs from the state”.

Emphasizing the need to break the supply chain of drugs, Mann asked the police officers to arrest those who are actually selling drugs, not the drug addicts as these persons have already become victims of the drug mafia.

He said that with this initiative, ultimately the backbone of the supply chain would be broken and Punjab would soon become a drug-free state adding this could not be accomplished without the wholehearted support of the police force.

Focusing his government’s priority on the rehabilitation of drug addicts after a crackdown on the drug smugglers, Mann underscored the need to bring all those back in the mainstream, who had gone astray in the past.

The Chief Minister further said that his government would strive hard to run the drug de-addiction centres across the state efficaciously while ensuring there is no shortage of medicines besides running counselling programmes so that the youth after treatment should not again fall prey to drugs.

Mann hoped it would now set an example by completely eliminating the drug terror, which has ruined the lives of our youth.

He asked police officers to be vigilant while tackling the drug menace with a heavy hand and should be aware of who, where and what kind of drugs were being sold within their jurisdiction. (ANI)

Sri Lanka Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who tendered his resignation on Monday, has recommended the formation of an all-party interim government in his letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Uncertainty looms over who will take over the post of the Prime Minister in the island nation going through one of its most difficult phases, with the principal opposition party, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), confirming earlier that its leader Sajith Premadasa will not accept the PM’s post in an interim government.
“Effective immediately I have tendered my resignation as Prime Minister to the President,” Mahinda Rajapaksa said in a tweet.

The developments come even as nationwide protests against the government have intensified over the past few days resulting in an increase in incidents of clashes with the security forces deployed at protest sites.

More than a hundred protestors were injured on Monday at the Galle Face protest site during violent clashes resulting in nationwide curfew in the country.

“While emotions are running high in #lka, I urge our general public to exercise restraint and remember that violence only begets violence. The economic crisis we’re in needs an economic solution which this administration is committed to resolving,” Mahinda Rajapaksa said in a tweet shortly before resigning.

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence with food and fuel shortages, soaring prices and power cuts affecting a large number of the citizens, resulting in massive protests over the government’s handling of the situation.

The recession is attributed to foreign exchange shortages caused by a fall in tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as reckless economic policies, like the government’s move last year to ban chemical fertilizers in a bid to make Sri Lanka’s agriculture “100 per cent organic”.

Due to an acute shortage of foreign exchange, Sri Lanka recently defaulted on the entirety of its foreign debt amounting to about USD 51 billion.

The economic situation has led to huge protests with demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. (ANI)