Top news of the day: Lok Sabha Speaker sets in motion the process to remove Justice Yashwant Varma; petitioners argue ECI does not have the authority to determine citizenship, and more
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday (August 12, 2025) set in motion the process of removing Justice Yashwant Varma of Allahabad High Court by admitting a motion, signed by 146 members, and constituting a three member inquiry committee to probe the charges against Justice Varma.
Petitioners argue ECI does not have the authority to determine citizenship
The Supreme Court heard a batch of petitions challenging the Election Commission of India's (ECI) order to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. In the previous hearing, a Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi cautioned the poll body that the court would 'not hesitate to act' if the revised list reflected 'mass exclusions.' The petitioners have criticised the SIR process as a form of 'citizenship screening.'
Retail inflation in July slips to 8-year low of 1.55%
Retail inflation slipped to an eight-year low of 1.55% in July mainly due to subdued prices of food items, including vegetables and cereals, according to government data released on Tuesday (August 12, 2025). The consumer price index (CPI) based inflation was 2.1% in June and 3.6% in July 2024. The July 2025 inflation is the lowest since June 2017 when it was at 1.46%.
Centre has not transferred ₹3.69 lakh crore of cess collections to the designated funds, CAG finds
As of 2023-24, the Central Government has failed to transfer ₹3.69 lakh crore worth of cess collections to the relevant funds for which the cess was implemented, the Comptroller and Auditor General has found. A cess is a levy over and above a tax and has to be used for a particular purpose. These short allocations date back to cesses imposed in 1974 and thus show lapses across governments.
Owaisi condemns Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir's remarks, demands political response from Modi government
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday (August 12, 2025) condemned Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir's fresh nuclear threat against India, from U.S. soil, and said it deserves a political response from the Modi government. The Hyderabad MP said India being a strategic partner, this misuse of American soil is unacceptable to India and Indians. He demanded the central government must lodge their protest and raise the issue with the U.S. strongly.
John Abraham writes to CJI, calls for review of Supreme Court's directive on stray dogs
Actor John Abraham on Tuesday (August 12, 2025) wrote a letter to Chief Justice B.R. Gavai, urging a review and modification of the recent Supreme Court directive ordering the removal of street dogs from the Delhi NCR region. The letter came a day after the Supreme Court directed the authorities to permanently relocate all strays from streets to shelters 'at the earliest'.
No coercive steps against owners of old vehicles in Delhi-NCR: Supreme Court
In a relief to owners of diesel vehicles of over 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in Delhi-NCR, the Supreme Court on Tuesday (August 12, 2025) ordered authorities not to take coercive against them. The Supreme Court was dealing with a plea seeking recall of its October 29, 2018 order upholding a National Green Tribunal's directive.
IGNOU now offers M.A. in Bhagavad Gita, Disaster Management Diploma, Agricultural Cost Management, and B.A. in Home Science
IGNOU has introduced new academic programmes, including an M.A. in Bhagavad Gita, offering a structured study of Indian knowledge traditions. It also offers a flexible, distance-learning postgraduate diploma in Disaster Management for preparedness and mitigation; a Diploma in Agricultural Cost Management to promote sustainable, profitable farming.
Vijayawada Police Commissioner inspects security arrangements ahead of launch of free bus travel for women
Police Commissioner S.V. Rajashekar Babu reviewed security for Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu's visit to Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) here on August 15. The Chief Minister will launch 'Free Bus Service for Women' in the State, at PNBS on Independence Day.
Pune varsity withdraws 'Voice of Devendra' competition notice after objection from NSUI
The Savitribai Phule Pune University has withdrawn the notification for an elocution competition under the title 'Voice of Devendra', after the NSUI, Congress' student wing, opposed it claiming the varsity was trying to implement BJP's 'hidden' agenda.
Is a 'potentiality of abuse' of BNS Section 152 a ground to declare the law unconstitutional, asks the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Tuesday (August 12, 2025) asked if 'potentiality of abuse' by the state of Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which punishes 'acts endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India', could be a ground to declare the law itself unconstitutional.
New Zealand all-rounder Brooke Halliday quotes
For New Zealand all-rounder Brooke Halliday, getting accustomed to the heat in India is the biggest takeaway from the three-match ODI series in Ahmedabad last October and her ongoing two-week training stint at the CSK High Performance Centre (HPC) in Chennai.
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Nimisha Priya on death row: SC told talks ongoing, no immediate threat
The Supreme Court was informed on Thursday that there was "no immediate threat" to Indian nurse Nimisha Priya who is on death row in Yemen for murder. It then listed the matter after eight weeks. The counsel for petitioner organisation Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council, which is extending legal support to Priya, requested a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta to adjourn the matter. The apex court was hearing a plea seeking a direction to the Centre to use diplomatic channels to save the 38-year-old nurse from Palakkad in Kerala who was convicted of murdering her Yemeni business partner in 2017. "Negotiations are going on. As of now there is no immediate threat. Kindly adjourn it by four weeks. Hopefully, everything will be over by that time," the counsel said. "Let this matter be listed after eight weeks," the bench then said. The petitioner's counsel said they would mention the matter before the top court if there was any urgency. The top court was apprised last month that Priya's execution, which was scheduled for July 16, had been stayed. On July 18, the Centre informed the top court that efforts were on and the government was trying everything possible to ensure Priya came out safely. The petitioner organisation sought a Centre-appointed delegation to go to Yemen to meet the murder victim's family for negotiations. The bench said the petitioner could make a representation to the government. The petitioner's counsel had earlier said Priya's mother was in Yemen to negotiate with the victim's family and she has gone there as the Delhi High Court asked the Centre to give her permission to travel. Priya was convicted in 2017, sentenced to death in 2020 and her final appeal rejected in 2023. She is imprisoned in a jail in the Yemen capital Sana'a. The petitioner's counsel had earlier told the apex court that payment of blood money to the family of the deceased permissible under the Sharia law could be explored. He said the victim's family might pardon Priya if blood money was paid. On July 17, India said it was in touch with Yemeni authorities as well as certain friendly nations as part of efforts to reach a "mutually agreeable solution" in the case. According to Yemeni court documents, Priya allegedly drugged and murdered Talal Abdo Mahdi in July 2017. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Business Standard
20 minutes ago
- Business Standard
SC asks ECI to detail docs considered in 2003 Bihar electoral roll revision
The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to inform about the documents considered during the 2003 intensive electoral roll revision in Bihar. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, which resumed the hearing on a pleas challenging the June 24 ECI decision to conduct the special intensive revision (SIR) in the state said, "We would like ECI to state what documents were taken in 2003 exercise". The remarks came after advocate Nizam Pasha, appearing for one of the parties, said referred to the court reportedly saying "if the date of January 1, 2003 (the date of earlier SIR) goes then everything goes". "I must submit that nothing was there to show why this date is there The impression sought to be conveyed is that it is the earlier date when the intensive exercise for revision of the electoral roll was held. It is stated that the EPIC (voter) card issued then is more reliable than issued during summary exercises conducted from time to time, is incorrect," Pasha said. Pasha asked if the process of enrolling under intensive and summary revisions was the same then how could EPIC cards issued under summary exercises be discarded. The lawyer, therefore, said the date of 2003 was invalid and not based on intelligible differentia (basis of distinguishing the two situations). "No receipt of my enumeration form is being given or any documents acknowledging the receipt is given and therefore the booth level officers have an upper hand and these lower level officers have too much discretion on whether the form has to be taken or not," he said. Senior advocate Shoeb Alam, appearing for another petitioner, pointed out insufficient reasons in the ECI notification saying the process invented was neither "summary" nor "intensive" but just a creation of the notification. "This is a process of voter registration and cannot be a process of disqualification. This is a process to welcome and not turn this into a process to unwelcome," he said. The top court on August 13 observed electoral rolls cannot remain "static" and there is bound to be a revision, the top court said the expanded list of acceptable documents of identity from seven to 11 for Bihar's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters' list was in fact "voter-friendly and not exclusionary." As the row over the SIR escalated, the bench said the EC had the residual power to conduct such an exercise as it deemed fit. The bench also disagreed with a submission by a petitioner that the SIR of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar had no basis in law and ought to be quashed. Leaders of opposition parties including the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress and the NGO Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) have challenged the electoral roll revision drive in Bihar.
India.com
20 minutes ago
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Instead Banning BLA, US Should Slap Sanctions On Pakistans Trrorist Army: Baloch leader
Tara Chand, chief of Baloch American Congress, on Thursday stated that instead of banning the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), US President Donald Trump should have slapped severe sanctions on the Pakistani Army, which he described as the world's number one terrorist army. The remarks came after the US recently designated the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its front organisation, The Majeed Brigade (TMB), as foreign terrorist organisations (FTO). Taking to X, Chand posted, "Instead of targeting and banning the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the Trump administration should have imposed tough sanctions on the Pakistani army, the world's number one terrorist army. This is the same army that sheltered Osama bin Laden for a decade and has long been the breeding ground for global terrorism." Calling Pakistan a terrorist state, Chand, also a former Cabinet Minister in the Government of Balochistan, asserted that the rogue country is "run by terrorists, and its army has created and supported countless extremist organisations that threaten world peace." For decades, the US-based Baloch leader said that Pakistan has unleashed a "campaign of terror, torture, and oppression" against the people in Balochistan. He urged the US to open its eyes, stand with the oppressed, and hold the Pakistani Army accountable. Earlier, on Wednesday, Chand slammed Pakistani Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir for making nuclear threats, calling him a "fake Field Marshal" and an "enemy" of humanity. This followed after Munir, during his US visit over the weekend, warned that Pakistan will never allow India to choke the Indus River and will defend its water rights at all costs, even if the forces will have to destroy any dam that India seeks to build on it. "Pakistan's fake Field Marshal, General Asim Munir, who has threatened in America to destroy India and the world with his nuclear bombs, should be ashamed of himself. He is the number one enemy of humanity, driven by the madness of religious extremism under the banner of Islam. He seeks to destroy the world along with India," Chand said in a post on X. Flagging it as a wake-up call, he called on the world leaders to take back all of Pakistan's nuclear weapons and impose economic, political, and international sanctions on the country. Raising concern, Chand stated that before "religiously-motivated" Pakistan and its leadership can act on their destructive ambitions, their nuclear weapons have to be removed in order to prevent the rogue state from bringing harm to the world.
