1. Modi Leaves for US, Hails a ‘New Milestone’ in Ties
US President Donald Trump’s presence at the “Howdy Modi!” event in Houston will be a “new milestone” in India-US ties and the two nations can contribute to building a more peaceful and stable world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday.
“Working together, we can contribute to building a more peaceful, stable, secure, sustainable and prosperous world,” Modi said in a statement shortly before leaving for a week-long visit to the US.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Chinmayanand Held, but on Lesser Charge
After dragging its feet for around two weeks over arresting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Chinmayanand, accused of rape by a woman student of a law college he runs, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Uttar Pradesh Police finally arrested him from his residence in Shahjahanpur on Friday — but on a lesser charge than that of rape.
Interestingly, the SIT has also arrested three other people for allegedly trying to extort money from Chinmayanand. “Sanjay Singh, Sachin Singh and Vikram, who have been accused of sending a message to Chinmayanand asking for ₹5 crore and threatening to release objectionable videos, have also been arrested,” said SIT chief and inspector general of police (IGP) Naveen Arora.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. GST Council Slashes Rates on Hotel Tariffs, Grinders; Hikes Tax on Caffeinated Beverages
After chairing the 37th Goods and Services (GST) Council meet in Goa Friday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a tax hike on caffeinated beverages up to 40 per cent and slashed rates on hotel room tariffs. The meeting also decided to lower cess on 1500 cc diesel vehicles and 1200 cc petrol vehicles by 12 per cent.
On caffeinated beverages, the GST has been hiked to 28 per cent with an additional cess of 12 per cent, as against the current 18 per cent.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. Caught on Tape: Retired HC Judge Assaulting Daughter-In-Law
Almost five months after Justice (retired) Nooty Rama Mohan Rao, along with his wife and son, was booked by Hyderabad police for allegedly harassing and assaulting his daughter-in-law, CCTV footage of the assault surfaced Friday.
The purported video footage, with a time stamp dated April 20, 2019, was released by the family of Rao’s daughter-in-law, M Sindhu Sarma. Rao served at the Andhra Pradesh and Madras High Courts, and retired in April 2017.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. After Centre’s Move, Collegium Modifies Order on Akil Kureshi
The Supreme Court collegium has decided to recommend the elevation of justice Akil Kureshi as the chief justice of the Tripura high court, modifying its earlier decision of pitching his name for the Madhya Pradesh high court after the Centre returned its proposal on the matter twice, according to a resolution released on Friday.
The collegium, a body of the SC’s top five judges headed by the Chief Justice of India, unanimously passed the resolution to modify its recommendation after the government referred it back “along with accompanying material”, the resolution said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. Rajeev Kumar Moves Court for Anticipatory Bail
Lawyers for former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar on Friday filed a petition in the Alipore district and sessions court seeking anticipatory bail against his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a case related to the Saradha Group financial scandal, as he remained untraceable for a week.
“We have filed a petition for anticipatory bail...It is set to come up for hearing tomorrow noon,” said Kumar’s counsel Gopal Haldar.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Youngsters in Delhi Demand Action on Climate Change
At the Delhi edition of Fridays for Future, it wasn’t uncommon to see youngsters with protest placards in one hand and carrying single-use plastic bottles with chilled water in the other.
This stood in stark irony not only to their cause, but also because of the Prime Minister’s exhortation to Indians to eschew the use of single-use plastic by October 2, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
(Source: The Hindu)
8. Elgaar Parishad Case: No Incriminating Evidence Against Me, Arun Ferreira Tells Bombay HC
Activist Arun Ferreira on Friday contended before the Bombay High Court that there was no incriminating evidence against him, while arguing for his bail application in the Elgaar Parishad case. Ferreria was arrested by the Pune City Police on August 28, 2018 for his alleged link with the banned CPI-Maoist.
Ferreira’s lawyer, advocate Sudeep Pasbola, told the court that he was arrested only because of his acquaintance with co-accused Surendra Gadling, and for being a member of the Indian Association of People”s Lawyers (IAPL).
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. Ayodhya Hearing in SC: ‘Suit by Ramlalla, Ramjanmabhoomi Was Socio-Political Vehicle for Nyas’
The Sunni Central Waqf Board on Friday sought to highlight the political nature of the Ayodhya Ram temple movement and said the suit filed by the deity Ramlalla and the birthplace Ramjanmabhoomi in 1989 was only a “socio-political vehicle” for the Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas, which was created in December 1985.
“Thus it is clear that Suit no. 5 was a socio-political vehicle for the Nyas, pointing to the future and trying to reiterate the past to serve the future,” Senior Advocate Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for the Board and one of the main petitioners M Siddiq, told a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.
(Source: The Indian Express)
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