RJD moves SC against EC's revision of electoral rolls in Bihar
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Indian Express
13 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Centre notifies appointment of Aarti Sathe, 2 others as judges of Bombay High Court
Nearly a fortnight after the Supreme Court Collegium recommended name of advocate Aarti Arun Sathe for her appointment as the judge of Bombay High Court, the Central government on Wednesday notified her appointment along with two other judges. Earlier this month, the opposition in Maharashtra—including NCP ( SP) MLA Rohit Pawar—questioned the SC Collegium's recommendation stating that she was a former spokesperson of Maharashtra BJP and the judiciary was required to be 'free and impartial'. On July 28, along with Sathe, the SC Collegium had recommended appointment of advocates Ajit Kadethankar and Sushil Ghodeswar as judges of the Bombay High Court. On Wednesday, the Centre issued a notification clearing the appointment of three lawyers as additional judges of the Bombay HC. 'In exercise of the power conferred by clause (1) of Article 224 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint (i) Shri Ajit Bhagwanrao Kadethankar, (ii) Shri Sushil Manohar Ghodeswar and (iii) Ms. Aarti Arun Sathe, to be Additional Judges of the Bombay High Court, in that order of seniority, for a period of two years with effect from the date they assume charge of their respective offices,' the Centre's notification reads. Sathe was appointed spokesperson of the Maharashtra BJP in February, 2023 and had resigned in January 2024 citing 'personal and professional reasons'. She had also resigned from the primary membership of the party and as head of the Mumbai BJP legal cell on January 6, 2024. With over two decades of legal practice, Sathe has primarily dealt with tax disputes and appeared before various forums including Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) , Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), and Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) along with matrimonial disputes before the Bombay High Court. During early years as a lawyer, she worked with the Economic Law Practice (ELP) and was a part of senior lawyer Percy Pardiwala's chamber. She has also argued cases in the Supreme Court and other High Courts. Maharashtra BJP had dismissed opposition's charges claiming that Sathe's recommendation was 'purely merit-based and within the legal framework' and was made almost a year-and-a-half after she resigned from the party and she has 'no connection with the party.' The Bombay HC currently has a total of 66 judges, including 50 permanent and 16 additional judges. After the three lawyers take oath as additional judges, the strength will go up to 69. The sanctioned strength of the Bombay High Court, which is the second largest in the country after the Allahabad High Court, is 94.
Mint
13 minutes ago
- Mint
15th Finance Commission's tax share rejig boosts Bihar, Maha; Karnataka hit
New Delhi: Seven states have seen their share of the divisible tax pool shrink, while 21 have gained under the 15th Finance Commission's 2021–26 award compared with the previous allocation, finance ministry data showed. Karnataka faced one of the sharpest cuts, with its share dropping from 4.713% in the 14th Finance Commission (2015-20) to 3.647%. The divisible pool is that portion of gross tax revenue that is distributed between the Centre and the states. The divisible pool consists of all taxes, except surcharges and cess levied for specific purpose, net of collection charges. Kerala's allocation fell from 2.5% to 1.925%, and Andhra Pradesh's from 4.305% to 4.047%. Assam, Odisha, Telangana, and the country's most populous state Uttar Pradesh also saw reductions. However, Uttar Pradesh's dip, from 17.959% to 17.939%, was marginal. In contrast, 21 states gained. Bihar's share rose from 9.665% to 10.058%, Maharashtra's from 5.521% to 6.317%, Rajasthan's from 5.495% to 6.026%, and West Bengal's from 7.324% to 7.523%. Smaller states such as Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura, also recorded the largest proportional increases. To be sure, the Finance Commission determines each state's share of tax devolution by evaluating factors such as population, income, area and demographic performance, assigning specific weights to these criteria to calculate the final percentage allocation. 'It is the prerogative of the Finance Commission to decide the criteria for recommending inter se tax shares from overall tax devolution for each State. This power of the Commission is given in Article 280(3)(a) of the Constitution of India,' the ministry of finance recently said in a written response to a question in the Rajya Sabha. 'Depending upon the parameters chosen by the Finance Commission and the weightages assigned, the percentage share of the taxes received by the states varies from one Finance Commission period to another,' it added. Meanwhile, the Arvind Panagariya-led 16th Finance Commission is currently reviewing detailed submissions from states and central ministries to finalize its 2026–31 recommendations by 31 October, a verdict that will shape the fiscal landscape for the next five years (2027-31), deciding which states enjoy greater spending room and which must operate under tighter constraints. The 16th Finance Commission, like its predecessors, is tasked with recommending how central tax revenues should be divided between the Centre and the states (vertical devolution), and how that share should be distributed among states (horizontal devolution). It will also assess funding needs for disaster management and for strengthening local governments. Speaking to Mint, in an interview last month, Manoj Panda, a member of the 16th Finance Commission, said that the commission has just completed several rounds of state visits, and may have to go "a bit beyond" the standard parameters while computing the share of the country's revenue kitty between states and the Centre. He added that the states' tax-to-GSDP (gross state domestic product) ratios have remained stuck at 6-7% levels and that future tax collections will primarily hinge on GSDP growth. To be sure, there is a growing demand from wealthier Indian states, typically bunched around the western and southern regions, to be given a bigger share of the revenue. Richer states have pressed the 16th Finance Commission to factor in their outsized contribution to national growth and tax revenues when determining horizontal allocations, arguing that the current formula fails to adequately reward their stronger economic performance despite their disproportionate share in GDP and tax collections.
News18
22 minutes ago
- News18
Rahul has tea with dead voters from Bihar, thanks EC for experience
New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said he had a unique experience of having tea with some 'dead" voters from Bihar and thanked the Election Commission for it. A group of seven voters from Bihar met the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha at his residence and shared their experience of how they were declared 'dead" by the EC and their names removed from the electoral rolls. 'There have been many interesting experiences in life, but I never got the chance to have tea with 'dead people'. For this unique experience, thank you Election Commission!" Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X. He also shared a video of his meeting with the 'dead" voters. In it, Gandhi is heard telling them to move around and see Delhi as the 'dead" cannot even be charged tickets. In the video, some of them told Gandhi that they came to know that they were 'declared dead" by the EC during the special intensive revision (SIR), and were among the 65 lakh voters whose names have been removed from the electoral rolls of poll-bound Bihar. The group also told Gandhi that they appeared before the Supreme Court on Wednesday to get their voting rights back. The apex court is hearing petitions against the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. In a statement, the party later said that seven voters from Bihar, all very much alive, shared tea with Rahul Gandhi today, even as the Election Commission's SIR list had them as 'dead". Ramikbal Ray, Harendra Ray, Lalmuni Devi, Vachiya Devi, Lalwati Devi, Punam Kumari, and Munna Kumar all belong to Tejashwi Yadav's constituency, Raghopur. 'They have been removed from the electoral rolls despite having completed the requisite paperwork for the SIR. 'The Election Commission has not openly published lists of the people whom it has declared dead, migrated, etc. Our teams on the ground were able to identify these people only because they managed to informally get EC's internal report in two to three polling booths," the Congress said. These seven represent only a fraction of 'unjustly" deleted voters in two to three polling booths in the constituency, it added. 'This is not a clerical error — it is political disenfranchisement in plain sight. 'After 'Vote Chori' was exposed in Bengaluru, it is clear that the Bihar SIR exercise is also compromised. When the living are struck off as dead, the death certificate is issued to democracy itself," the Congress said. PTI SKC SKC NSD NSD view comments First Published: August 13, 2025, 19:15 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
