NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to open the road outside the residence of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to public, after taking into record the Advocate General (AG) of Punjab's submission thatin recent years unfortunately, there was resurgence of terrorism and grenades being thrown at the intelligence building. A two-judge Bench of the top court, led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta, issued notice to the Union

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday filed his nomination papers from Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli seat for the Lok Sabha elections. Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accompanied Rahul Gandhi as he filed papers. Rae Bareli seat is considered traditional pocket borough of the Gandhi-Nehru family as its members have represented the seat for several decades. Besides Rae Bareli, Rahul Gandhi has contested Lok Sabha election from Keralas Wayanad as well. Gand

NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court issued notice to the ED and CBI after hearing APP leader and former Delhi's deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia's plea seeking bail in the Delhi Excise Policy case on Friday. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma asked the ED and CBI to file their respective replies to Sisodia's plea and fixed the matter for further hearing till May 8. The court also allowed Sisodia to meet his ailing wife once a week under the police custody at his residence. The ED said it has no objection

BARDHAMAN: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asserted that Congress' tally in the Lok Sabha polls will be an all-time low, as he mocked its leader Rahul Gandhi's decision to contest from Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli seat, sensing defeat at Wayanad where he is a sitting MP. Addressing a rally in the Bardhaman-Durgapur Lok Sabha seat, Modi said that if Congress is voted to power, it would snatch quotas meant for the Scheduled Caste, Dalits and OBCs and give those to its jihadi vote bank to purs

NEW DELHI: Former Delhi University Professor Hany Babu, an accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence case, on Friday withdrew his bail plea from the Supreme Court citing a change in circumstances in the case. The SC took this into record and allowed his plea. Babu's lawyer told the top court's two-judge bench, led by Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Pankaj Mithal, that he would move the High Court afresh seeking bail in the case. Babu had moved the Supreme Court, filing an appeal, after his

NEW DELHI: Delhi University's associate professor Hany Babu on Friday withdrew from the Supreme Court his plea seeking bail in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case. A bench of Justices Bela Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal took note of the submission of of the lawyer appearing for Babu, who said five other co-accused have been granted bail in the case. The counsel for the petitioner states that there is a change in the circumstance and would not like to press the present petition and approach the high

RANCHI: In yet another blow to former CM Hemant Soren, the Jharkhand HC on Friday dismissed his petition challenging his arrest by the ED in a money laundering case linked to a land scam. A two-bench judge comprising of Chief Justice S Chandrashekhar and Justice Navneet Kumar had kept its order reserved on February 28 after hearing the arguments of both sides. It was argued on behalf of Hemant Soren that the case in which he has been arrested was not a scheduled offence and there was no case of

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has sought the Centre's stand on a plea alleging disappearance of 70,772.48 kg of heroin from seizure records between 2018 and 2020. Justice Subramonium Prasad issued a notice on a petition filed by B R Aravindakshan and asked the Centre to file its response within four weeks. The petitioner, a journalist, has claimed that there is a huge discrepancy between the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report and the data released by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)

RANCHI: Launching a scathing on the BJP-led Centre, the wife of jailed former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Kalpana Soren posted a photograph of her posing with a bow and arrow on the social media platform 'X' with captions targetting the saffron party for the recent events in the state. After filing nominations for the Gandey Assembly by-poll, Kalpana Soren has been making scathing attacks on the BJP-led Centre for allegedly targeting the non-BJP-ruled states. In her 'X' handle, the JMM leader sai

AIZWAL: Assam Rifles and Mizoram police have seized heroin and foreign cigarettes worth over Rs 4.34 crore in two separate operations, a statement issued by the paramilitary force said. Acting on a tip-off, the joint team of Assam Rifles and Mizoram police carried out a joint operation at the Falkland area in Aizawl on Tuesday during which 598 gm of heroin was seized, the statement said. Two persons, including a Manipur resident, have been arrested for possessing the heroin worth Rs 4.18 core, i

PUNE: Nationalist Congress Party (SP) president Sharad Pawar has said that victory for his daughter Supriya Sule, his party's Lok Sabha candidate from Baramati, would reduce support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi by one MP in Parliament. Campaigning on Thursday for Sule in Pune district's Purandar tehsil, which comes under the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency, he also flayed the BJP over farmers' issues. Three-term MP Sule is pitted against NCP candidate Sunetra Pawar, her sister-in-law and wif

BENGALURU: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has refuted the media reports on alleged controversial and unauthorised movement of classified BrahMos documents outside the premises by a former senior scientist that has sent shock waves on the security of the countrys sensitive and secret defence apparatus and documents. A section of media has alleged foul play in Brahmos documents quoting a DRDO Vigilance Department report that had reportedly flagged a security breach by former

BHOPAL: Deprived of a candidate to contest the May 13 Lok Sabha polls following the withdrawal of papers by its official nominee and rejection of papers of its substitute candidate the opposition Congress has decided to appeal to people to press the None of the Above (NOTA) option in Indore parliamentary constituency. Were not like the BJP that has tarnished and murdered democracy in Indore. We believe in democracy, but wont support any of the remaining candidates in fray or ask people to boyc

RANCHI: Sanjay Seth, the BJP candidate for the Ranchi Lok Sabha constituency, on Thursday filed his nomination in the presence of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Accompanied by CM Dhami, leader of opposition in Jharkhand Assembly Amar Kumar Bauri, AJSU chief Sudesh Mahto, JD(U)s Kheeru Mahto and other BJP leaders, Seth expressed confidence for his victory from Ranchi. Before filing of the papers, a grand poll meeting was organised in Morabadi ground in Ranchi where thousands of s

MUMBAI: The Maha Vikas Aghadi has started holding joint rallies for Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra in a bid to counter the impact of Prime Minister Narendra Modis brisk campaign in the state. Organising rallies at the same places where the PM addressed meetings, the opposition alliance is raising local issues and failures of the Modi government. The MVA has lined up a mega plan of Utara Sabha (dilute rallies) in an attempt to neutralise the Modi impact, alliance leaders said. PM Modi had add

LUCKNOW: Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a scathing attack on the opposition bloc, especially the Samajwadi Party, over dynastic politics while addressing poll rallies in Badaun, Bareilly, and Sitapur on Thursday. He slammed Congress and SP leaders for refusing to attend the consecration of Ram Lalla. In Badaun, Shah criticised the Samajwadi Party for fielding Aditya Yadav, the son of senior SP leader and Akhilesh Yadavs uncle Shivpal Yadav, after much flip-flopping. He accused Akhilesh Y

KOLKATA: A day after Kunal Ghosh was removed as the general secretary of the Trinamool Congress, he said on Thursday that he would continue to work as a grassroot worker of the party. No problem, I will love to be on the road, working for the party on the field, Ghosh told a local Bengali channel. He was seen crying before the party workers. I cry openly unlike many others who cry only on WhatsApp or other social media platforms to garner sympathy from the TMC chief, he said. Ghosh later told re

NEW DELHI: Men are at a higher risk of premature death than women, however, females who live longer lives tend to spend more of their lifetime in poor health, according to a Lancet report. The study published in Lancet Public Health said that while men face a higher chance of dying early from Covid-19, heart disease, respiratory, liver diseases and road accidents, women tend to experience more non-fatal illnesses such as mental health conditions, low back pain, dementia, headaches and HIV/AIDS.

NEW DELHI : The Election Commission of India (EC) on Thursday issued directions to all political parties to immediately cease enrolling voters for post-election beneficiary-oriented schemes through advertisements, surveys and applications. The EC said such activities by political parties and their candidates amounted to bribery. In its advisory to all national and state political parties, the EC said it has taken a serious view of some political parties and candidates reported to have been engag

AHMEDABAD : Congress candidate from Surat Lok Sabha seat Nilesh Kumbhani, whose nomination was cancelled leading to the BJPs unopposed win, has again sparked a controversy. After the cancellation of Kumbhanis candidacy, he and his three proposers have remained out of public view. The Congress suspended Kumbhani after he lost contact with the party. Amid speculation surrounding his whereabouts, Kumbhani suddenly appeared at his residence in Surat on Wednesday night. Furthermore, a message circula

KOLKATA: In a sensational charge, a female employee of Raj Bhavan has accused West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose of sexual harassment. The woman had been working as a temporary staffer at Raj Bhavan since 2019. She complained of feeling uncomfortable when the governor met her on Thursday, reportedly to discuss her promotion. According to the complaint, the woman was touched improperly by the governor a week ago. Sources said she first complained to the Raj Bhavan police outpost before filing a

NEW DELHI: Amidst reports of China making roads and developing infrastructure in the Shaksgam Valley, India has reaffirmed that the area is part of its territory. India has also raised a protest with China over the construction. The Shaksgam Valley is a part of the Indian territory. We have never accepted the so-called China Pakistan Boundary Agreement of 1963 through which Pakistan has unlawfully attempted to cede the area to China. We have registered our protest with the Chinese side against i

NEW DELHI: India's top court on Thursday mandated that a minimum of one-third of the posts in the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) be reserved for women. The apex court's order specifies that for this year, three executive members, two senior executive members, and the treasurer of the SCBA must be women. The court also directed that the post of SCBA Treasurer be reserved for women in the upcoming elections for the 20242025 term. The SCBA is a premier institution and is an integral part of t

Speculative: MEA declines to comment on media reports that Australia expelled two Indian spies

India blasts USCIRF, describes it as biased entity with political agenda

NEW DELHI: Attributing the recent successes in operations against left wing extremists to forward operating bases deep inside Naxal dens, officials in the security set-up said that 125 such units were established by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the past three years. Giving year wise details, a senior official said the CRPF has set up 18 forward operating bases so far in 2024, while 31 such posts were established in 2023, 48 in 2022 and 28 in 2021. These posts have given a decisive

No political clearance was either sought or issued: MEA on Prajwal Revanna's travel to Germany

SABARKANTHA: A father-daughter duo were killed and two children sustained serious injuries on Thursday after an electronic item delivered by an unidentified person exploded in Gujarat's Sabarkantha district, police said. The incident took place at Veda village, said sub-inspector Jitendra Rabari of Vadali police station. The parcel was delivered by an unidentified man. As soon as the electronic item was plugged in, there was a blast, he said. While Jitu Vanzara (33) died on the spot, three injur

SHIVAMOGGA: Addressing the election rally in Karnataka's Shivamogga , Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday alleged that JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna had raped 400 women, and demanded an apology from Prime Minister Modi for supporting the 'mass rapist' on the stage in front of Karnataka. The PM should also apologise to the mothers and sisters of India. Prajwal Revanna rapes 400 women and makes videos. This is not a sex scandal but mass rape, the former Congress President alleged. The Prime Minist

JHARKHAND: Kalpana Soren, wife of former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, on Thursday said that the people of Jharkhand are seething in anger against the BJP government and will throw out this tyrannical force which is looting its rich mineral resources. In an exclusive interview with PTI, Kalpana said her husband's arrest was unexpected and it triggered a shock in the JMM and the family. She said it is not in the DNA of tribals to bow and Hemant Soren would emerge stronger. We have full faith in the

BENGALURU: Karnataka High Court has declined to categorise the statement 'go hang yourself' as abetment of suicide. Justice M Nagaprasanna addressed the complexity of determining abetment of suicide in cases involving contentious statements. The recent ruling stemmed from a petition involving allegations of abetment of suicide against a man in connection with the death of a priest in a church in Udupi in coastal Karnataka. The petitioner was accused of triggering the priest's suicide by allegedl

RANCHI: Jharkhand Congress' 'X' (Twitter account) was suspended after a case the Delhi police registered a case related to the Union Minister Amit Shah's doctored video. Suspending the account, 'X' said that the action due to a legal demand. Account withheld... @INCJharkhand has been withheld in response to a legal demand, says the X handle of Jharkhand Congress. Notably, on April 27, a video related to Union Home Minister Amit Shah had gone viral on social media, in which, he could be seen sayi

VIJAYAPURA: Senior leader of the BJP and former minister Aravind Limbavali admitted that Prajwal Revanna's alleged sexual assault case has turned out to be a huge embarrassment for the BJP which is in alliance with the JD)S) in Karnataka for the Lok Sabha polls. We admit that the matter has certainly caused embarrassment to the party, there is no denial in that, he told media persons on Thursday. He however made it clear that the BJP is not supporting or standing with the accused, and has demand

IMPHAL/CHURACHANDPUR: Monthly dates in Mizoram or maybe Assam if at all, single parenting and the constant fear of abandonment. For Manipur's Meitei-Kuki couples forced to live apart in 'community' enclaves, this is how life has been since ethnic clashes broke out in the state last May. As crisis continues in the polarised state, where the Meitis are concentrated in Imphal Valley and the Kukis have moved to the hills around, inter-tribe couples are facing the cruel brunt of a conflict that has c

ANAND (GUJARAT): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday dubbed the Congress party a disciple of Pakistan, and said the neighbouring country was eager to make the 'shehzada' of the grand old party the next prime minister of India. His comments came amid reports that Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, a former minister in Imran Khan's cabinet in Pakistan, shared a video featuring Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on his social media handle and praised him. Pakistan is crying because Congress is dying here. Paki

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Registry is learnt to have refused to accept the Centre's plea seeking modification of its 2012 verdict in the 2G spectrum case which had said the State was duty bound to adopt the auction route while transferring or alienating the country's natural resources. Sources said the apex court registry termed the plea of the government as misconceived and an attempt to seek a review of the judgement in the guise of seeking clarification. The Registrar refused to receive it

NEW DELHI: An order was issued to terminate 223 contractual employees of the Delhi Commission of Women after Lt Governor VK Saxena gave his nod to a proposal on it, officials said on Thursday. The Women and Child Development (WCD) department of the Delhi government has directed the DCW to sack the contractual staffers who it said were hired without following due procedure. Former DCW chief and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal slammed the order. In a Hindi post on X, she said, LG Saheb has issued

PATNA: RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter Rohini Acharya's bid to reclaim the Saran Lok Sabha seat, once represented by the socialist leader, for the party is being challenged by a namesake of her father. Contestant Laloo Prasad Yadav, a local farmer from Bihar's Saran district, the 'karmabhoomi' of his famous namesake, has a penchant for contesting elections. This time, he filed his nomination papers as a candidate of the Rashtriya Jansambhavna Party (RJP) for Saran Lok Sabha seat on Apri

MUMBAI: A 30-year-old constable posted with the Local Arms unit of the Mumbai police died in a hospital, days after a gang of robbers and drug addicts allegedly injected him with a poisonous substance on railway tracks here while he struggled to recover his phone from them, an official said on Thursday. The constable, Vishal Pawar, was a resident of Thane. He was admitted to a hospital in Thane, but lost the battle for life three days later on May 1, the official said. The incident occurred arou

NEW DELHI: The Indian Meteorological Department has issued a forecast indicating that India is likely to experience an above-normal number of heatwave days in May, with both maximum and minimum temperatures expected to rise. The trend of warmer weather has already been observed, with April recording 40% more heatwave days than the historical average. Normally heat waves prevail over northern plains, central India and adjoining areas of peninsular India for about 3 days in different meteorologica

NEW DELHI: If tax concessions announced by the government are treated as 'presumptive loss' by federal auditor Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), it would diminish democracy and not enhance it, opined former RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao. Subbarao, who held various positions including the Union finance secretary, wrote in his new book titled 'Just A Mercenary?: Notes from My Life and Career' about his involvement in the decision-making on the pricing of the 2G spectrum, an issue tha

NEW DELHI: Former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday approached the Delhi High Court seeking bail in the corruption and money laundering cases lodged by the CBI and the ED in relation to the alleged excise policy scam. The plea was mentioned before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora for an urgent hearing and the court agreed to list on Friday. Let the judge go through the file so let it come tomorrow, the bench said. Advocates Rajat Bhardwaj and M

SULTANPUR: Hearing in a 2018 defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his alleged objectionable remark targeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah will now be held on May 14 as no judge was assigned to the MP-MLA court. According to Gandhi's counsel Kashi Prasad Shukla, the hearing was scheduled for Thursday but could not be held as a judge was yet to be assigned to the court. The MP-MLA court fixed May 14 as the next date of hearing in the matter, he added. The defamation complaint

LUDHIANA: Two labourers were killed after a boiler exploded at a rubber factory here, police said on Thursday. The incident took place in the factory located in an industrial area of Jaspal Bangar village on Wednesday. The bodies of the deceased have been sent to the Civil Hospital for postmortem. Police said a case has been registered.

JAIPUR: Repolling necessitated by a misplaced voters' register at a booth in Ajmer Lok Sabha constituency began at 7 am on Thursday. The Election Commission of India had declared polling held at this booth in the second phase on April 26 void after 17-A register (of voters) got misplaced by the presiding officer and announced repolling. Elaborate security and other arrangements have been made for the repolling. Voting at the polling booth in Nandsi in Ajmer parliamentary constituency began at 7

BENGALURU: In India, malaria still poses a serious threat to public health despite considerable improvements in recent years. To save yourself and your loved ones against this preventable disease, it is essential to comprehend the risk factors and put preventive measures in place. Recognising the spread of malaria Plasmodium parasites are the cause of malaria, an infectious disease spread by mosquitoes. Via contaminated blood feeds, the Anopheles mosquito spreads the parasite to people. Because

KOLHAPUR: Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying his speeches were not based on facts and reality. Talking to reporters here, Pawar also alleged that PM Modi doesn't talk about the basic issues that people face and diverts their attention. I have never seen a prime minister earlier whose speeches were not based on facts and reality. He is satisfied with targeting me and Uddhav Thackeray, Pawar said. Wonderin

AGARTALA: A 16-year-old girl in Tripura's Sepahijala district was allegedly raped multiple times by two men whom she met on social media, police said on Thursday. The girl became friends with the duo through Facebook and Instagram in March, they said. She went to the house of one of the accused at a remote village of the district on April 27 when she was allegedly raped by them again, said Sheuli Das, the officer-in-charge of the Bishalgarh women's police station. She returned home the next morn

NEW DELHI: As many as 1,240 ragging incidents were reported in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) over the last year, of which 1,113 cases, or 89.76 per cent cases, have been resolved by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Most of the ragging incidents - over 82 per cent - were reported by males from January 1, 2023, to April 28 this year, the UGC Chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar, said. Kumar said the nearly 90 per cent of ragging cases that were resolved highlight the commitment of the UGC an

Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai exudes confidence in Modi Ki Guarantee and his good gover nance, which he believes will ensure an 11-seat BJP sweep in the state. Talking tough on Maoists, he said dialogue can resolve any problem and restore peace. In an interview with Ejaz Kaiser , he said Congress has failed as a constructive opposition. Excerpts: What gives your party the confidence to win all 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh? The voter turnout and their enthusiasm in the previous