Officials attributed the dip in pollution level to the change in wind direction from north-westerly to south-easterly. (File)Delhi News Highlights, November 8: The air quality index (AQI) of Delhi was recorded in the ‘very poor’ category for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday morning, even as the weatherman has forecast light rain or drizzle later in the day. Meanwhile, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the primary schools in the city are set to reopen from November 9 and restrictions on activities in schools will be removed as Delhi’s air quality improved. “There has been an improvement in air quality in the past two days. Yesterday and today, the AQI has fallen to around 350. In stubble burning counts as well, there’s a reduction and wind direction has changed,” said Rai. Work-from-home order for Delhi govt staff was revoked and government offices reopened from Monday with full capacity he further informed.
As MCD polls are around the corner, BJP, which is staring at anti-incumbency after being in power for 15 years, is planning to showcase central government schemes to voters and target the Aam Aadmi Party government over its failure in controlling pollution as its main pitch in the MCD polls, senior party leaders say. The Delhi civic body elections will be held on December 4 from 8 am to 5.30 pm and results will be declared on December 7. A total of 250 councillors will be elected.
However, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) launched its poll campaign, ‘Koode par Jansamvad (Public Dialogue on Garbage)’, on Monday. Under this, the party will conduct public discussions on the garbage “mismanagement” issue across all 13,682 poll booths from November 8 to 20. Launching its poll campaign, senior leader and state convenor Gopal Rai announced that AAP’s key agenda for the civic polls will be “BJP’s garbage mismanagement”.
Tremors were felt in Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, and some other parts of NCR during a late night earthquake. The National Centre for Seismology said the earthquake of Magnitude 6.3 on the Richter scale originated in Nepal at 1.57 am on Wednesday.
The origin of the tremors was at a depth of 10 kilometres.
The Delhi High Court has held that 100-year-old philatelic exhibits like stamps and envelopes are “antiquities” under the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act (AAT) 1972, stating that they are of “immense historical interest”.
A single-judge bench of Justice C Hari Shankar gave the judgment on November 4 on a plea moved by Ajay Kumar Mittal, a member of the Philatelic Congress of India, who said philatelic exhibits were not “antiquities” under the law and that if carrying them to foreign exhibitions was subjected to the “rigour” of the Act, then participation would become a “near impossibility”.
Mittal also said it would disincentivise philatelists from pursuing their hobby. If the court holds that the Act is applicable to philatelists, then the Centre should be directed to simplify the procedure for clearances, he submitted further. The court, however, said it could not direct the framing of such guidelines because it was a matter of administrative discretion. Read more
The Delhi High Court has closed the proceedings on a plea filed last year that sought a dedicated Covid facility for public prosecutors, noting that all possible steps to provide medical facilities to combat the pandemic have been taken by the city government and the Centre.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma disposed of the public litigation by Dishank Dhawan, an additional public prosecutor, and said no further orders are required to be passed on the matter at this stage.
“This court, after careful consideration of submissions canvassed by learned counsel for the respondent, is of the opinion that the UOI (Union of India) and GNCTD (Government of NCT of Delhi) have taken all possible steps for providing medical facilities, i.e. beds, ICU, ventilators, medicines, etc. to combat COVID-19 infection, and no further orders are required to be passed by this court at this stage in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case,” said the bench, also comprising Justice Subramonium Prasad in its order dated November 2.
The Delhi government counsel submitted that the petition was filed in 2021 when the rate of COVID-19 infection and the consequent hospitalisation was very high. (PTI)
In a trademark infringement case moved by a pharmaceutical company against another, the Delhi High Court has recently held that in the case of medicinal products, the test to be applied needs to be “far stricter” as any confusion can result in public injury.
A single judge bench of Justice Navin Chawla was hearing an application seeking interim restrictions moved by FDC Limited for trademark violation against Nilrise Pharmaceutical over the use of its trademark ‘ZIPOD’.
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Delhi Metro will now run two trains with eight coaches each on the Red Line instead of the regular six coaches in an effort to increase their carrying capacity. These two trains will begin running from Tuesday onwards, according to a communication from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
The Red Line sees around 4.7 lakh passengers per day and has interchange stations at Kashmere Gate, Inderlok, Welcome, and Netaji Subhash Place.
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The Delhi Police's Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit is conducting a three-day joint training session on investigation techniques to combat cyber crime in coordination with I4C and the French embassy, a statement said on Tuesday.
The session will be conducted by three cyber experts from the French cyber crime investigation team with two support staff from the French embassy and three cyber expert officers from India, it said. (PTI)
Nearly 3 lakh posters, banners and hoardings have been removed from across Delhi in just two days since the Model of Code of Conduct came into effect ahead of the much-awaited polls to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), data shows.
According to data shared by the State Election Commission, a total of 1,20,515 posters, banners and other materials were removed on November 6, while till November 7 as many as 2,91,996 posters and other materials were taken down from walls of public places, traffic signals and other spots.
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Alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar has issued a press statement asking Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to stop sending him “threats through the jail administration”, threatening him that every transaction with the CM and AAP leader Satyendar Jain will be brought before a court of law.
“Kejriwalji stop sending me offers and threats through the jail administration and your cronies. I am not intimidated or interested in any of your offers, I will not back out, I will make sure every single transaction given to you and Mr Jain is brought before court of law with every piece of evidence that I saved from (the) start knowing how you are dual-faced,” Sukesh’s letter reads.
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Resident Doctors Associations from across Delhi hospitals Monday extended their support to MBBS doctors protesting against the bond policy in PGI Rohtak, Haryana, and also condemned action by the state police on students on Saturday.
As per the bond policy, MBBS students in Haryana will have to enter into a bond-cum-loan agreement of Rs 10 lakh per year for four years with the college and bank concerned. It will be financed by the state government if the MBBS/MD pass-out students decide to join government hospitals for a specified period of at least seven years. Students who would not be joining government hospitals in Haryana will have to pay Rs 40 lakh to the government. They will receive their bachelor’s degree after they have met all financial liabilities. Read More
Delhi’s overall air quality on Tuesday remained ‘very poor’ with AQI at 321. This is the fourth consecutive day the National Capital is recording air quality of 'very poor' category.
Delhi recorded its air quality in the very poor category for the third consecutive day on Monday and it is likely to deteriorate further in the coming days due to unhelpful meteorological conditions, forecasting agencies said. The capital's 24-hour average air quality index worsened from 339 on Sunday to 354 on Monday. It was 381 on Saturday.
Farm fires in Punjab rebounded -- 2,487 incidents were reported on Monday as compared to 599 a day ago. However, their share in Delhi's PM2.5 pollution dipped from 18 per cent on Sunday to 14 per cent on Monday, according to data from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute and SAFAR, a forecasting agency under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Delhi government on Monday decided to reopen primary classes from November 9 and revoke the order asking 50 per cent of its staff to work from home in view of improvement in the city's air quality over the last two days. (PTI)
AAP leader Rajendra Pal Gautam will stage a protest in Delhi on Tuesday against "caste-based violence" in the country. Gautam, who resigned as a minister in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the national capital last month after a controversy over his presence at a religious conversion event, said he will also submit a memorandum to the Centre regarding caste-based violence.
"The number of incidents of caste-based violence and suicide has increased across the country. Those who are supposed to take action in such matters are silent. How long will this go on? This has to stop at some point," he said. (PTI)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Monday told a Delhi court that AAP leader Satyendar Jain was the kingpin who was not only involved in “converting black money to white” but also in tampering of evidence, while opposing his bail in a money laundering case.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju opposed Jain’s bail before Special Judge Vikas Dhull, who listed the matter for further hearing on November 9.
Raju began his arguments by rebutting Jain’s plea that the predicate offence investigated by the CBI was not made out. The ASG told the judge that two courts have taken cognizance of both the CBI and ED chargesheets and summoned the accused, which was not challenged by Jain’s lawyers. (Read more)
“We are poor and that’s why we are suffering.”
The Supreme Court’s decision to acquit three men sentenced to death in the 2012 Chhawla gangrape and murder of a 19-year-old woman drew a sharp reaction from her family, with her mother breaking down and father struggling to make sense of the judgement.
In a video following the SC order, the mother is seen crying. She says, “After 11 years, this is the verdict… We have lost. I was waiting for this verdict. Now, I feel I have no reason to live. I thought my daughter would get justice.” (Read more)
Alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar has again written to Delhi L-G VK Saxena via his lawyer, this time claiming he was being threatened by Delhi minister Satyendar Jain and former Director General Prisons Sandeep Goel. He has also demanded a CBI enquiry into the issue.
Chandrasekhar had written to the L-G earlier too, alleging that Jain, who is in jail in relation to a case of alleged money laundering filed by the Enforcement Directorate, had asked him for ‘protection money’. He had also alleged that he had paid around Rs 12.5 crore to Goel as protection money. He then issued a press release stating that Delhi CM and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had promised him a Rajya Sabha seat in return of Rs 50 crore. (Read more)
After an over two-year-long gap, the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) has begun the process of reopening its hostels by starting the renewal of hostel admission for the 2022-23 academic session. However, no notification has been issued so far for the allotment of rooms to the first-year students.
The hostels were closed after the nationwide pandemic-induced lockdown in March 2020. Last week, provosts of several hostels issued notices informing students that applications are invited from eligible residents for renewal of hostel admission for the session 2022-23.
"The application completed in all respect should be submitted to their respective Provost's Office latest by 20 November 2022," the notices read. (PTI)
Businessman Dinesh Arora, who has been accused in the Delhi excise policy case, moved a CBI court Monday seeking pardon without any coercion from the probe agency and said he also wants to become a witness.
Arora appeared before Special Judge M K Nagpal with his lawyer R K Thakur informing the judge that he has moved the application. Arora also recorded his statement before Special Judge Nagpal. The court will hear arguments on this application, however, the proceedings are expected to take place in-camera since Arora’s lawyer told the court that this was a sensitive matter.
Arora prayed for a grant of tender of pardon submitting, “I am ready to voluntarily make a true and full disclosure of all the facts pertaining to this case as the same are within my knowledge.” (Read more)
Doctors at various government-run hospitals in Delhi on Monday wore black ribbons at work in solidarity with MBBS students in Haryana's Rohtak protesting a policy that mandated them to pay a bond fee of around Rs 10 lakh during admission.
The Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA) has given a call for the nationwide black ribbon protest, saying it was in response to the alleged police action against MBBS students of a medical college in Rohtak who were protesting against the "new bond policy".
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on November 2 said no student will have to deposit the Rs 10 lakh bond amount at the time of admission for MBBS in government colleges. According to a Haryana government statement, they will instead have to sign a bond-cum-loan agreement of the amount with the college and the bank concerned. (PTI)
Delhi BJP on Monday demanded a CBI probe into jailed comman Sukesh Chandrashekhar's claims that he had bribed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Addressing a press conference here, Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta also demanded the transfer of jailed AAP minister Satyendar Jain from Delhi to a prison in either Uttar Pradesh or Haryana.
Jain is in jail in connection with a money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate. "Chandrashekhar has claimed that he paid Rs 10 crore to Jain, the then jail minister in the Kejriwal government, for his protection in prison. The conman has also said he had paid Rs 50 crore for a Rajya Sabha seat," Gupta said. (PTI)
In its response to a plea challenging the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 and Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, the Centre has informed the Delhi High Court that the Acts were passed following “due procedure of law”.
The plea before the high court has been moved by an unmarried man and married woman who already has a child, claiming that the Acts exclude them from the benefit of surrogacy as a “reproductive choice” as well as the requirement of the exercise being an altruistic surrogacy only. The plea claims that this exclusion is against Article 14 (Right to Equality) and 21 (Right to Life) of the Constitution. (Read More)