Delhi had reported 9,197 cases on Sunday.Delhi Live News: In further improvements, Delhi on Monday recorded a decrease in its daily tally with 5,760 fresh cases and 30 deaths, according to the city health department. The positivity rate also dropped to 11.79 per cent on Monday with active cases at 45,140.
Aam Aadmi Party supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched a campaign for poll-bound states, asking Delhiites to upload videos of the Delhi government’s good work on social media platforms.
“Upload videos on good works of Delhi government and telling how you benefitted from it on Twitter, Instagram Facebook. Also WhatsApp people known to you in these states appealing them to give a chance to Kejriwal,” he said launching “Ek Mauka Kejriwal Ko” campaign. He also appealed his party workers to share such videos and make them viral on different social media platforms.
A dense layer of fog enveloped Delhi and adjoining areas on Monday morning with the minimum temperature settling at eight degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year. The relative humidity at the Safdarjung observatory, considered the official marker for the national capital, was recorded at 95 per cent.
Medical staff attend to admitted Covid-19 patients at the Shenai Banquet quarantine and care centre in New Delhi. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)
The BJP on Monday alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party has been deliberately not implementing the Janlokpal Bill and is only “misleading” people over the issue, a party statement said.
However, the AAP in a statement responded that the saffron party was playing politics over the issue of corruption by raising the issue of Lokpal when their own Lieutenant Governor rejected the proposal.
BJP's Delhi unit chief Adesh Gupta in a statement charged the Kejriwal government with “lying” on the Janlokpal Bill and “misleading” people and said that AAP came to power by repeatedly talking about the Janlokpal bill but now they stand exposed before the country as the Bill is not yet implemented.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader claimed that for the past seven years despite getting it passed Arvind Kejriwal government did not implement the Janlokpal Bill. (PTI)
For the first time, a laser show would be held at the Beating Retreat ceremony, which would be held on January 29th at the Vijay Chowk. Rehearsals for the ceremony are ongoing.
Senior advocate Rebecca John on Monday told the Delhi High Court that she has been receiving “hate mails” asking her to step down from the position of amicus curiae in petitions seeking the criminalisation of marital rape as she already has an “opinion” on the issue.
The senior lawyer, who contended that the marital rape exception was not constitutional, said that the marital rape exception would be tested on the anvil of its constitutionality and an individual's opinion was not relevant.
“To all those who asked me to recuse from the matter because I have an opinion on the subject... I've been receiving a lot of hate mail. Ultimately the challenge is only to be tested on the anvil of constitutionality. If it is constitutionally sound, the exception remains. If it is unconstitutional, it goes. It doesn't matter what views we hold on the subject,” she said.
“If having a view was a ground for recusal then everyone should recuse from every case. Every intelligent person has a view on everything,” remarked Justice C Hari Shankar, who is part of the division bench headed by Justice Rajiv Shakdher.
The bench is hearing PILs filed by NGOs RIT Foundation, All India Democratic Women's Association, a man and a woman seeking striking down of the exception granted to husbands under the Indian rape law. (PTI)
Delhi experienced cold day conditions on Monday with the maximum temperature settling at 14.8 degrees Celsius, seven notches below the season's average.
The minimum temperature was recorded at 8 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year. A dense cover of fog engulfed the national capital on Monday morning causing difficulty for early morning commuters. Almost all parts of Delhi recorded cold to severe cold day conditions, the weather department said.
The maximum temperature at Narela was recorded at 13.5 degrees Celsius, eight notches below normal, while at Palam, it stood at 14.8 degrees Celsius, six degrees below normal. Humidity levels oscillated between 100 per cent and 74 per cent. (PTI)
The Delhi High Court Monday said it will hear on a daily basis, a batch of pleas challenging the constitution of all Town Vending Committees (TVC) in the national capital under the Street Vendors Act and asked the Delhi government to address the issue.
“We want to first deal with the issue of constitution of TVCs by the Delhi government, which according to the petitioners was bad,” a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh said.
Besides the issue of the constitution of TVCs, the pleas have also raised a challenge to the validity of the Street Vendors Act, its implementation, certain provisions of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Scheme, 2019 and other connected issues raised by various market associations and vendors and hawkers.
The high court said it will commence hearing the matter on a day-to-day basis from Tuesday. (PTI)
Delhi on Monday reported 5,760 new Covid-19 cases and 30 deaths. With the positivity rate being 11.79 per cent on Monday, the active cases in the city stood at 45,140.
In a happy news to the boozers, the Delhi Government has reduced the number of 'dry days' from 21 to just three days. Now, the shutters of wine and beers shops across the city will only be closed on Republic day, Gandhi Jayanthi and Independence day.
The changes in the number of dry days were made under the New Liquor policy. An official notification was however issued on Monday. Delhi observes a large number of dry days as compared to any other state.
"In pursuance of the provisions of Rule 52 of Delhi Excise Rules, 2010, it is hereby ordered that the following dates shall be observed as 'Dry Day' in the National Capital Territory of Delhi by all the licensees of the Excise department and opium vends located in Delhi for the year 2022. Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti. Apart from the above three dry days, the Government may declare any other day in the year as Dry Day from time to time," said read the order issued by Deputy Commissioner (Excise), Anand Kumar Tiwari.
Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal will chair a DDMA meeting on January 27 in order to review the Covid-19 situation in Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday conferred the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (PMRBR) award to 29 children from across the country ahead of Republic Day. The children received digital certificates through the blockchain technology – the first time that the technology has been used in conferring awards by the government – and a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh each. The Prime Minister also interacted with the winners virtually.
The awards have been given for winners of 2021 and 2022 PMRBR – certificates were issued to 61 children from both years.
The children have been awarded for “exceptional achievement’’ in different sectors, including – Innovation (7), Social Service (4), Scholastic (1), Sports (8), Art and Culture (6) and Bravery (3). There are 15 Boys and 14 Girls among the awardees belonging to 21 states and Union territories.
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The prosecution opposing former JNU student Umar Khalid’s bail in a northeast Delhi riots case has told a Delhi court that all 25 anti-CAA protest sites in Delhi were picked because of their proximity to mosques, but were “purposefully given secular names”.
Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad made these arguments before Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat, arguing that the 25 protest sites were close to local mosques. Giving out examples, the SPP said: “Shreeram colony protest site was actually Noorani Masjid protest. Sadar Bazar protest site was Shahi Idgaah. Shastri Park protest site was actually Wahid Jama Masjid. Gandhi Park protest site was actually Jamila Masjid… All 25 protests sites I have pointed out are in close vicinity of masjids. That is the identification of these protest sites.”
The SPP argued that the organisers of the protest sites wanted to “create ground work for 24X7 sit-in protests”.
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Two arm suppliers of Neeraj Bawania and Tillu Tajpuria gangs were arrested on Monday and 27 illegal firearms along with a live cartridge were recovered from their possession, said Delhi police special cell.
The minimum temperatures in northwest and central India are likely to drop by three to five degrees Celsius over the next five days, leading to cold day conditions in Delhi and a cold wave in parts of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Cold day to severe cold day conditions are very likely over parts of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat over the next two to three days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday.
Cold wave to severe cold wave is very likely in isolated pockets of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Gujarat over the next five days.
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At least 20 cases of dengue have been reported in the national capital in the first three weeks of January this year, according to a civic report released on Monday.
For the January 1-22 period, no cases were recorded in the preceding three years, while three cases were logged in 2017 and five in 2018, as per the report. Cases of vector-borne diseases are usually reported between July and November, but the period may stretch till mid-December.
Last year, 9,613 dengue cases, the highest number of cases of vector-borne disease recorded in the national capital in a year since 2015, and 23 deaths were reported. As per the civic report on vector-borne diseases released on Monday, a total of 20 dengue cases have been recorded this year till January 22, with five fresh cases added in the past one week. (PTI)
The Centre reiterated its request before Delhi High Court, seeking more time to file a reply to the petitions seeking criminalisation of marital rape on Monday.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta before the division bench of Justices Rajiv Shakdher and C Hari Shankar submitted that the consultation is presently on and the government will have to look at the issue in a holistic manner.
"The dignity of women is at stake. There are family issues. There is no imminent threat to anyone here," submitted Mehta.
"I'll give you a week, 10 days. Let her (Rebecca John) conclude. You make your attempt. I know you can," Court to Mehta.
A Delhi court on Monday framed charges against JNU student Sharjeel Imam for allegedly making inflammatory speeches at Aligarh Muslim University and in Delhi’s Jamia area against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Additional sessions judge Amitabh Rawat framed the charges under Sections 124A (sedition), 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, etc.), 153B (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration), 505 (Statements conducing to public mischief) of the IPC along with Section 13 (Punishment for unlawful activities) of the UAPA).
The FIR was registered against Imam on January 25, 2020, at Crime Branch police station under Section 124-(A), 153A, 505 of the IPC with regard to speeches made in the area of Jamia on December 13, 2019. The said speech was shared on social media. Another speech was uploaded on Twitter handle and on different websites in which he is seen addressing the gathering in Aligarh Muslim University. According to the State, Imam is accused of an offence relating to sedition, promoting enmity between groups on the ground of religion and indulging in unlawful activities to cause disaffection towards India.
A dense layer of fog enveloped Delhi and adjoining areas on Monday morning with the minimum temperature settling at eight degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year.
The relative humidity at the Safdarjung observatory, considered the official marker for the national capital, was recorded at 95 per cent. The Palam and Lodhi Road observatories recorded minimum temperatures of 9.4 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal and 8 degrees Celsius, a degree above season's average, respectively.
The weather office has forecast partly cloudy sky for the day with cold conditions likely to prevail at a few places.
Delhi's air quality was recorded in poor category as the Air Quality Index (AQI) read 244 at 8 am. (PTI)
Delhi Metro services will be partially curtailed on January 26 due to security arrangements for Republic Day as part of which four stations in the vicinity of Rajpath will down shutters in the morning hours. The stations are Central Secretariat, Udyog Bhawan, Patel Chowk and Lok Kalyan Marg.
The services on Line-2 (HUDA City Centre-Samaypur Badli) of the Delhi Metro will be partially regulated on Wednesday.
Entry and exit at Central Secretariat and Udyog Bhawan metro stations will be closed till 12 noon, DMRC said in a statement. Central Secretariat station will only be used for interchange of passengers between Line 2 and Line 6, officials said. Entry and exit at Patel Chowk and Lok Kalyan Marg Metro stations will remain closed from 8:45 am to 12 noon.
As a part of security arrangements for the Republic Day, all Delhi Metro parking lots will remain closed from 6 am on January 25 till 2 pm on January 26. Metro train services will also be regulated at some stations.
Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana said over 27,000 police personnel have been deployed for security duties in the national capital and anti-terror measures.
Aam Aadmi Party supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched a campaign for poll-bound states, asking Delhiites to upload videos of the Delhi government's good work on social media platforms.
'Upload videos on good works of Delhi government and telling how you benefitted from it on Twitter, Instagram Facebook. Also WhatsApp people known to you in these states appealing them to give a chance to Kejriwal,' he said launching 'Ek Mauka Kejriwal Ko' campaign.
He also appealed his party workers to share such videos and make them viral on different social media platforms.
An 18-year-old man was beaten up by a group of 15-20 men at Sakatpur village after an alleged argument over sharing a video clip on social media. Police said the victim suffered multiple injuries and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital. No arrests have been made yet, police said.
According to police, the incident took place around 2.00 pm Thursday when the victim, Mohit Khan, was out with two friends.
In the FIR, Mohit said one of the accused called him and asked where he was. “He cut the call after I told him. Within 4-5 minutes, a group of 10-15 people, on motorcycles and cars and carrying sticks and iron rods, arrived and attacked me," he said.
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