Monday, 23 December 2024
Monday, 23 December 2024
The Supreme Court on Thursday held the Maharashtra governor was not justified in calling upon then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to prove majority in the Assembly on June 30 last year but refused to order status quo ante, saying he did not face the floor test and resigned.
It, however, said since Thackeray had resigned without facing the floor test, the governor was justified in inviting Shinde to form government at the behest of the BJP which was the largest political party in the House, reports PTI
"The governor was not justified in calling upon Thackeray to prove his majority on the floor of the House because he did not have reasons based on objective material before him to reach the conclusion that Thackeray had lost the confidence of the House," said the bench which also comprised Justices M R Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and P S Narasimha.
In a major win for the AAP government, the Supreme Court on Thursday in a unanimous verdict ruled that the Delhi government has legislative and executive powers over services except for public order, police and land.
"The National Capital Territory of Delhi government has legislative and executive powers over services sans...public order, police and land," said the bench, which also comprised Justices M R Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and P S Narasimha.
The AAP later on, termed the Supreme Court's verdict on the Centre-Delhi services row a "tight slap" on the mission to topple governments through "unconstitutional ways" while Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the judgment will ensure increased pace of development.
The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on a batch of pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriage.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud reserved its judgment after a 10-day hearing in the matter.
"We are all presuming that the declaration will be in the form of a writ that grant this or grant that. This is what we are accustomed to. What I was hinting was, as a constitutional court, we recognise only a state of affairs and draw the limit there...," Justice Bhat had said.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar along with deputy CM Tejashvi Yadav meets NCP chief Sharad Pawar and discussed efforts to strengthen opposition unity ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha elections.
“Welcomed the Chief Minister of Bihar Shri Nitish Kumar ji and deputy Chief Minister Shri Tejashwi Yadav ji at my Mumbai residence today. We had a brief discussion to strengthen the Opposition unity ahead of the Lok Sabha elections,” Pawar tweeted after meeting Kumar.
Later on both the Bihar ministers met with Shiv Sena(UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray at his residence. His meeting with Uddhav Thackeray is being seen as a bid to strengthen the Opposition unity ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The protesting wrestlers and their supporters on Thursday wore black bands, observing it as a 'Black Day' as their agitation against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh entered the 18th day.
The wrestlers have been demanding the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who they have accused of sexual exploitation of several women grapplers including a minor.
"We are observing a black day today in protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. We are confident of our victory as the entire nation is with us in our fight," Bajrang said.
Imran Khan was on Thursday produced before Pakistan's Supreme Court after it ordered the country's anti-corruption watchdog to bring the former prime minister as it heard his plea against his dramatic arrest in a graft case.
The order to produce 70-year-old Khan was issued by a three-member bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah.
The bench had directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to produce Khan by 4:30 pm (local time) when the court would reconvene.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Maharashtra NCP president and MLA Jayant Patil for questioning in a money laundering case linked to alleged financial irregularities in the now-bankrupt financial services firm IL&FS, official sources said Thursday.
The 61-year-old MLA from Islampur seat of Maharashtra has been asked to depose before the federal agency here on Friday, they said.
Patil, a former minister of home and finance, is also the state president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and is a seven-term legislator.
Former Janata Dal (United) president R C P Singh joined the BJP here on Thursday in the presence of Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, once his mentor, of compromising with crime and corruption in his pursuit of "kursi" (chair).
Singh had a fallout with Kumar last year after he was seen by the JD(U) to be veering closer to the BJP as differences between the two parties grew. The two outfits subsequently severed their alliance.
Joining the BJP, Singh took a swipe at his former mentor, saying Kumar compromised his stand against crime and corruption in his "love" for the chair. He said the chief minister will be left with nothing in Bihar and lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his work for the poor and overall leadership of the country.
Singh mocked Kumar as a "PM", explaining that it stood for "palti maar" (one who keeps taking U-turns).
"Nitish babu used to say that he was against crime and corruption. Today, he is sitting in the lap of those against whom he once struggled. He is in love with the letter 'C' because 'C' stands for chair also. Everything he is doing is for the chair only," Singh charged.
"Nitish babu was a PM, he is a PM and will remain a PM. Here the letter 'P' stands for 'palti' and 'M' stands for 'maar'. He has betrayed (people) several times," he added.
Singh asked if no work was happening in the country, how did India become the fifth largest economy.
The former Cabinet minister, who had to resign from the Modi government after the JD(U) did not nominate him to Rajya Sabha for a fresh term last year, also took potshots at Kumar for his efforts to forge unity among the opposition ranks.
"What kind of opposition unity you will forge? Who is the leader? Is it possible to forge an opposition unity without a leader?" he asked, adding, "Nitish babu, you always talk about history. Dont' forget history. Ahead of every Lok Sabha election, there has been a talk about opposition unity, in 2019 as well." Singh said the rule of law was established in BIhar after the NDA government was formed in the state.
"But every thing has gone awry in Bihar today. The situation is worst than the past," he said.
It's because Kumar was given a mandate to develop Bihar but he has been travelling from one state to another, Singh said.
"One day he is Odisha, then second day in Jharkhand and in Maharashtra the third day. For what? People gave him mandate to make Bihar a developed state, end unemployment, give jobs to the youth," he said.
Union minister Pradhan also hit out at Kumar and said the JD (U) leader moved out of the NDA to pursue his "personal political ambitions and goals".
"NDA played a significant role in keeping Bihar on track. But Nitish ji kept back-stabbing (us) to pursue his personal political ambitions and goals," he charged.
Pradhan lauded Singh, claiming that he played a key role in strengthening the JD(U) and enjoys credibility among the extremely backward sections of society.
"His joining the BJP will further strengthen the party (in Bihar) and we will succeed." A bureaucrat, Singh served under Kumar when he was a Union minister and was brought into politics by the JD(U) leader. He was nominated to Rajya Sabha twice and was the most powerful leader in the party after Nitish Kumar before their fallout. He also comes from the Kurmi caste like Kumar.
Amid the doctors' protest in Kerala over their safety following the killing of a young doctor by a drug addict she was treating in Kollam district, the Kerala government on Thursday will discuss ways to ensure the safety of medical practitioners in the state.
The emergency meeting scheduled later today, comes in the backdrop of doctors intensifying their agitation against the killing of 23-yeara-old Vandana Das.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan decided to convene the high-level meeting after his discussions with the representatives of various doctors' associations at his chamber here in the morning.
Police arrested five people on Thursday after a low-intensity explosion took place near the Golden Temple, saying they were also involved in two similar blasts within a week.
The police did not elaborate on the motive but said they will investigate the "entire deep-rooted conspiracy" and examine possible connections of those arrested, in India and abroad.
"We will investigate the entire deep-rooted conspiracy behind this. We will examine all the associates of the arrested people, in India and abroad, and get to the bottom of it," DGP Gaurav Yadav said.
