In a judgement that comes as a massive blow to the Union government, the Supreme Court annulled the electoral bonds scheme, saying it violates constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression as well as the right to information. Calling the six-year-old scheme 'unconstitutional', a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud directed that the SBI must disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties.
Internet services have been suspended in certain areas of Punjab's Patiala, Sangrur and Fatehgarh Sahib districts till February 16 on the orders of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Some trains on the Delhi-Amritsar route were diverted after farmers squatted on tracks at many places in Punjab over the Haryana Police's action against 'Delhi Chalo' protesters.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi informed voters of her Rae Bareli constituency in Uttar Pradesh that she will not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls due to health and age issues. The message to the voters comes a day after the former Congress president filed her nomination for the Rajya Sabha seat from Rajasthan.
TMC leader and former Lok Sabha member Mahua Moitra has sent her response to a questionnaire by the CBI on allegations of corruption in raising questions in the house, officials said. The agency is conducting a preliminary inquiry into the allegations against Moitra on the reference from the Lokpal.
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File ImageManipur Police have arrested six people for looting arms from the India Reserve Battalion camp at Chingarel in Manipur's Imphal East district. Police, however, did not mentioned from where the arms were recovered or from where the persons were arrested.
Popular Bengali actor and TMC MP Mimi Chakraborty met party chief Mamata Banerjee and expressed her desire to quit as a parliamentarian, asserting that 'politics is not my cup of tea'. Asked why she tendered her resignation to Banerjee and not to the Lok Sabha Speaker as per norms, Chakraborty said, "Once I get the nod from the TMC, I will submit it to the Speaker."
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File ImageEnforcement Directorate has questioned senior Paytm executives and taken submission of documents from them following the recent RBI action of barring Paytm Payments Bank Ltd from accepting deposits or top-ups in any customer account, official sources said. Some documents have been recently submitted by Paytm executives following which they were asked certain questions.
Allahabad High Court reserved its order on a plea challenging the Varanasi district court's decision to allow Hindu prayers in a cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque. The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid committee moved the high court on February 2 within hours of the Supreme Court refusing to hear its plea against the Varanasi district court order and asking it to approach the high court.
Three people were in custody in Kansas City, Missouri, on Thursday, facing questions about what led to a deadly mass shooting near the city's Super Bowl victory rally and who was behind it. The bloodshed, which came at the end of the rally following a parade, turned the festive occasion into a scene of panic as throngs of attendees scrambled for cover at the sound of rapid-fire gunshots.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah confirmed that Rohit Sharma will lead the Indian team in the upcoming T20 World Cup being jointly hosted by the West Indies and the USA. With all-rounder Hardik Pandya still recovering from an ankle injury suffered in October 2, the board feels Rohit must continue as skipper in the format.