LIVE: Arvind Kejriwal steps out of Tihar jail hours after SC grants him bail in excise policy case | India News

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the CBI’s submission that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should be sent to the trial court with his plea seeking bail in the corruption case lodged by the agency in connection with the excise policy ‘scam’. The top court said that generally, the trial court should consider the prayer seeking bail once a charge sheet is filed as the material that an investigating authority may have been able to procure would undoubtedly facilitate that court to form a prima facie opinion on the gravity of the offence and the degree of involvement of the accused.

Andhra Pradesh government will rebuild houses for flood victims who lost their dwellings and is also contemplating providing compensation for damaged vehicles in the recent deluge. Torrential downpours and Budameru rivulet floods wreaked havoc in Vijayawada while seven districts in total were affected in the wake of a depression in the Bay of Bengal recently, said an official press release on Friday.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday said Union Home Minister Amit Shah has asked him to send the final report on the damage due to the devastating flood in the state. Shah made the request to the chief minister during a telephonic talk on the flood that left 36 people dead and over one lakh people homeless between August 19 and 23.

Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports and Labour & Employment, Mansukh Mandaviya, has called upon retired sportspersons across India to apply for the newly launched “Retired Sportsperson Empowerment Training” (RESET) Programme and actively contribute to the country’s sports ecosystem. The initiative was launched by Dr. Mandaviya today on the occasion of National Sports Day.

The Delhi High Court on Friday granted interim bail till January 30 to four co-owners of the basement of an Old Rajinder Nagar coaching centre where three civil services aspirants drowned in July. Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma, while pronouncing the verdict on the bail pleas of the four accused, said the relief is subject to the co-owners depositing Rs 5 crore with the Red Cross. The judge said the conduct of the co-owners is “unpardonable” and an “act of greed”. In the order, a request has been made to the Lieutenant Governor to constitute a committee under a retired high court judge to ensure no coaching centre is permitted to run without permission.

In a boost to the Left government in the state, the Kerala High Court on Friday dismissed a plea by the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan seeking quashing of the award of contracts for the KFON project and a CBI probe into it. A bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Syam Kumar V M said the material before the court does not persuade them to arrive at a prima facie finding regarding any illegality or irregularity in the implementation of the Kerala Fibre Optic Network (KFON) project.

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Friday said she has filed a complaint against SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch with the Lokpal and added the ombudsman should forward it to the ED or CBI for preliminary probe followed by a “full FIR enquiry”. Moitra shared a screenshot of submission of both the online complaint and the physical copy.

The Madhya Pradesh Congress on Friday alleged that some BJP workers and their relatives were behind the incident of assault on two army officers and rape of their woman friend near Indore’s Mhow. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, rubbished the allegation and accused the opposition party of creating a “false perception” on the issue. It also said the state government is very sensitive in such matters and that the accused in the Mhow case will not be able to escape.

Two army officers were assaulted and one of their two women friends was allegedly raped in the wee hours of Wednesday near popular tourist spot Jam Gate, about 30 km from Mhow military cantonment.

Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Friday that the ruling BJP has “panicked” due to the successful US visit of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and is spreading rumours about it. “Despite the BJP’s efforts from the past 15-20 years to defame him, Rahul Gandhi has now become the centre of hope and expectation of the country. Due to this, the BJP has become so desperate and aggressive that BJP leaders in the country’s capital are openly talking about killing Rahul Gandhi,” he said.

Police used water cannons on Friday to disperse protestors demanding the demolition of a portion of a mosque built on encroached government land in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi town. The mosque management committee have been served a notice by the Mandi municipal corporation to remove the encroachment within 30 days. According to the notice, the mosque stands on 232 square metres of land while the approval granted was just for 45 square metres.

Madhabi Puri Buch says she complied with all disclosure, recusal guidelines of Sebi.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said the Supreme Court order granting bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy ‘scam’ case has given hope to all those fighting for truth and justice. He said it’s also a “rebuke” to the BJP-led NDA government which, he alleged, is misusing Constitutional institutions for their “political nemesis.”

A Delhi court on Friday issues release order for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal following the Supreme Court granting him bail in a corruption case related to the alleged excise scam. Special Judge Rakesh Syal passed the order after the advocates for Kejriwal filed a bail bond of Rs 10 lakh with two sureties of the like amount before the court.

Swati Vijay Kulkarni has been appointed as India’s next Ambassador to Algeria, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Friday. Swati Vijay Kulkarni is an Indian Foreign Service Officer of 1995 batch. She is presently serving as Additional Secretary in the Ministry.