Supreme Court asks Centre to produce file related to appointment of Election Commissioner Arun Goel
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice K.M. Joseph said it wants to know whether there was any “hanky panky” in Arun Goel’s appointment as election commissioner as he was only recently given voluntary retirement from service. The bench said it started hearing a batch of pleas seeking a collegium-like system for the appointment of ECs and the CEC last Thursday and Mr. Goel was appointed as an EC subsequently on November 19. Therefore, it wants to see what prompted the step.
Boundary violence | Two vehicles in Meghalaya set on fire
At least two vehicles — one in Mukroh village where a violence killed six people on Nov. 22 and another in Meghalaya’s capital Shillong — were set ablaze by a mob, officials said on November 23. An Assam Government vehicle that was found abandoned at Mukroh village was torched by locals, an official said.
AAP Minister Satyendar Jain urges court to restrain media from running footage from inside jail
Fresh videos of AAP’s Satyendar Jain emerged from Tihar jail on Wednesday in which he was seen eating uncooked vegetables and fruits in his cell, days after the Minister moved a city court alleging that he is not being provided raw food as per his religious beliefs. However, the purported videos are dated September 13 and October 1. Jain, urged a court in Delhi to restrain the media from running any video footage from inside his prison cell. Special Judge Vikas Dhull issued a notice to Tihar Jail authorities on Jain’s plea and directed the prison officials to file their reply by Thursday when the court will hear the matter. Jain told the court that despite Tuesday’s hearing on the leak of videos of him from jail, another clipping was leaked Wednesday morning.
Mehrauli murder | Aftab will kill me, cut me into pieces, Shraddha told Maharashtra Police in 2020
Call centre employee Shraddha Walkar had two years ago complained to police in Maharashtra that her live-in partner Aftab Poonawala, who is accused of brutally murdering her, tried to kill her and she feared he would cut her into pieces and throw her away, an official said in Mumbai. In the complaint letter dated November 23, 2020, Walkar also alleged that Poonawala used to beat her up and his parents were aware of it.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi looked like Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi dictator, and it would have been better had he turned his appearance like Sardar Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru or Mahatma Gandhi. Hitting back, senior Congress leader Manish Tewari said the Assam CM was sounding like a “petty troll”.
Shahjahanpur BJP MP declared absconder by Uttar Pradesh court
The BJP Lok Sabha member from Shahjahanpur, Arun Kumar Sagar, has been declared absconding by a special MP/MLA court in the district for not appearing before it in a matter registered during 2019 Lok Sabha polls in relation to violation of model code of conduct and confiscation of election campaign material. The court has also ordered to paste the copy of the order at Mr. Sagar’s residence as well as at public places in Shahjahanpur. Special public prosecutor told local media persons that the local MP did not appear in the MP/MLA court despite being issued several summons and after which the court issued a non-bailable warrant against him. “It is a politically motivated issue. I don’t know much about it. I have high respect for the judiciary and will take legal remedy in the matter as per law,” said Mr. Sagar.
IAF men killing case | TADA court issues fresh warrant against JKLF chief Yasin Malik
The Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) court in Jammu on Wednesday, November 23, 2022 issued a fresh production warrant against JKLF chief Yasin Malik, as he again refused to cross examine the witnesses virtually in a case related to the killing of four Indian Air Force (IAF) officials in 1990 in Srinagar. Meanwhile, the court has decided to hear the case again on December 22, 2022. Officials said Malik, who was produced before the court through a virtual mode, refused to cross examine the witnesses in the case.
J&K High Court summons three senior advocates for misconduct
Three senior advocates of the Kashmir valley, who held official positions in the Kashmir High Court Bar Association (KHCBA) in the past, have been asked to present themselves before the Disciplinary Committee of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court. The summons followed a complaint filed by Achal Sethi, Secretary to the Government, Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs “for initiating disciplinary action against three advocates”. Mr. Sethi has suggested that the three advocates have “committed professional and other misconduct under the Advocates Act, 1961”.
With the Gujarat Assembly elections around the corner, the entire State is engulfed in election fever. However, the residents of Raj Samadhiyala village in Rajkot district are free from these political dramas as they have barred entry to political parties and campaigning in the village because they think that allowing candidates to campaign would be detrimental to the region. The village, 20 km away from Rajkot, not only banned political campaigning but also imposed a fine of ₹51 on those who do not come out to vote, in order to ensure maximum participation at the time of elections.
Karnataka Home Minister says decision on handing over Mangaluru blast probe to NIA in a day or two
Eight expert doctors are attending to Mohammed Shariq, the Mangaluru cooker bomb accused, at a private hospital in the city, according to Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra. On November 23, the Home Minister announced that a decision on ‘formally’ handing over the investigation to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will be taken in a day or two. Director General and Inspector General of Police Praveen Sood said that the NIA will take over the case at an appropriate time.
C.V. Ananda Bose sworn in as West Bengal Governor
C.V. Ananda Bose was on November 23 sworn in as the Governor of West Bengal. The Governor was administered the oath by Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court Prakash Shrivastava at Raj Bhawan, Kolkata. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, members of the State Cabinet, former Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Left Front chairperson Biman Bose were among the dignitaries present at the swearing-in ceremony.
Strike on Ukrainian maternity hospital kills newborn
An overnight rocket attack struck a hospital maternity ward in southern Ukraine, killing a newborn baby, Ukrainian authorities said on November 23. The baby’s mother and a doctor were pulled alive from the rubble. The region’s Governor said the rockets were Russian. The strike in Vilniansk, close to the city of Zaporizhzhia, adds to the gruesome toll suffered by hospitals and other medical facilities — and their patients and staff — in the Russian invasion entering its tenth month this week.
Six people and assailant dead in Walmart shooting, say police
A shooter opened fire at a Walmart in Virginia, leaving six people dead, police said, in the country’s second high-profile mass killing in a handful of days. The assailant is also dead. The store in Chesapeake was busy just before the shooting Tuesday night with people stocking up ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, a shopper told a local T.V. station.
Mahinda Rajapaksa blames ‘foreign forces’ for Sri Lanka’s crisis
Two-time President and former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday blamed “foreign forces” and the former government for Sri Lanka’s economic collapse, while admitting to “some wrong decisions” taken by their ousted administration. Foreign powers “eyeing Sri Lanka’s national assets”, and their “local agents” who were “still active” were fuelling anti-government protests, Mr. Mahinda told Parliament, during the second reading of the Budget presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
India, Gulf Cooperation Council to launch free trade pact negotiations on November 24
India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will announce the launch of negotiations for a free trade agreement on November 24, which aims at promoting two-way commerce and investments between the regions, an official said. GCC is a union of six countries in the Gulf region — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. India’s exports to the GCC member countries grew by 58.26% to about $44 billion in 2021-22, as against $27.8 billion in 2020-21, according to data from the Commerce Ministry. The share of GCC members in India’s total imports rose to 18% in 2021-22, from 15.5% in 2020-21.
FIFA World Cup 2022 | Another surprise as Morocco holds Croatia 0-0 at World Cup
Morocco held 2018 finalist Croatia to a 0-0 draw at the World Cup in Qatar on November 23. Morocco managed to stifle Croatia captain Luka Modric, who won the best player award at the last World Cup when he led his country to the final before losing to France. The Moroccans didn’t just defend and troubled Croatia’s defense, including with a thumping second-half shot from Achraf Hakimi that goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic had to punch away with both fists.
