SC asks ECI to reply on plea for common electoral rolls

 New Delhi : The Supreme Court asked the Election Commission to file a reply within two weeks on a plea seeking direction for common electoral rolls for Parliament, Assembly and local body polls to save public money and manpower. The apex court sought the response of the Centre and Election Commission on the plea, filed by Delhi BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay.

SC to hear PIL on poll reforms

The Supreme Court listed for final hearing on March 19 the PIL seeking barring candidates from contesting elections from two seats and discouraging independents from jumping into electoral fray. The petition, filed by Delhi BJP spokesperson and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, has sought declaring as invalid and ultra-virus section 33(7) of the Representation of the People (RP) Act which allows a person to contest a general election or a group of by-elections or biennial elections from two constituencies.

SC slams UP over not taking stand on restoring anticipatory bail provision

New Delhi: The Supreme Court pulled up the Uttar Pradesh government for not taking a clear stand on the issue of restoration of provision for anticipatory bail in the state that was scrapped in 1976. The apex court was hearing a petition filed by a lawyer seeking restoration of the provision of anticipatory bail in Uttar Pradesh as its absence is “discriminatory” to the people of the state.

PIL in SC to ensure two-child norm is followed by couples

New Delhi: A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court seeking a directive to the Centre to ensure that that the two-children norm is strictly adhered to by couples and non-observance results in denial of facilities to them. The plea, which is likely to be listed for hearing during the week, alleged that the increase in population was imposing an increasing burden on the limited natural resources of the country and causing continuous degradation.

Man arrested for posting morphed obscene pictures of Ker Min

Thiruvananthapuram: A man was arrested for allegedly posting pictures of Kerala Minister K T Jaleel morphed in an obscene manner on the social media, police said here. The man, identified as Shameer Parapadan, was arrested by Cyber Crime police when he arrived from abroad at the international airport in Kochi early on Monday morning, police said. Later, he was released on bail, police added. A complaint had been filed against him for allegedly morphing the pictures of Jaleel and circulating obscene photos through the Whatsapp recently. Jaleel is a CPI-M independent MLA representing Thavanoor constituency

NHAI to launch ranking system for toll plazas

New Delhi: To address issues at toll plazas, state-run NHAI has decided to bring in a system of ranking the toll plazas on the basis of cleanliness, staff behaviour, availability of ambulance and cranes in case of any emergency on highways. NHAI has launched a countrywide drive to address issues that affect highway users, such as ease of tolling, electronic tolling/FASTag lane, cleanliness at toll plazas, behavior of the toll plaza staff, deployment of marshals, cleanliness of toilets, functioning of Highway Nest (Mini), wayside amenities and availability of ambulance and cranes, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in a statement. Every quarter, three best toll plazas will be identified and their names will be published on the NHAI website.

Molestation victim’s hair cut as purification ritual in C’garh

Raipur: A 13-year-old girl’s hair was cut by people from her community as part of a “purification ritual” after she was allegedly molested by a person identified as Arjun Yadav (22) in Chhattisgarh’s Kawardha district, police said. The man was arrested on Monday and a search was on for community members who ordered and carried out the “ritual”, officials said. Initially the panchayat had disposed the matter by imposing a fine of Rs 5,000 on Yadav. Her family also had to organise a feast for members of the community, the SP said.