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1. Numbers Game Wide Open for Palanisamy and Panneerselvam Ahead of Tamil Nadu Floor Test
Two rival camps in Tamil Nadu’s ruling party are braced for an assembly trust vote on Saturday as experts indicated chief minister E Palanisamy’s wafer-thin majority and several unhappy legislators could upset calculations.
The day began with a jolt for Palanisamy – a loyalist of AIADMK chief VK Sasikala who took oath as chief minister only a day ago – with former state police chief and MLA R Nataraj switching sides to former chief minister O Panneerselvam’s camp.
“I took this decision listening to the views of my voters,” said the Mylapore legislator, who was not among the 120-odd MLAs lodged in the high-security luxury resort outside Chennai.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Jurists Seek SIT Probe Into Kalikho Pul’s Suicide Note
A forum of jurists have sought a probe by a special investigation team, set up by judges, into an explosive suicide note attributed to former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Kalikho Pul.
Pul's first wife Dangwimsai Pul released the document in New Delhi and accused the BJP government in the state of trying to cover up the suicide note.
The note levels grave allegations against former and serving Supreme Court judges and a person holding high office. One of the charges is that relatives of two judges had sought bribes totalling Rs 86 crore from Pul in exchange for ensuring that President's rule in Arunachal would not be declared illegal.
(Source: The Telegraph)
3. After 11 Years in Jail, 2 Accused in Delhi Blasts Cleared on all Counts
Nearly 12 years after three serial blasts rocked Delhi ahead of Diwali and claimed 67 innocent lives, a sessions court on Thursday acquitted two of the three accused of all charges. The third accused, the alleged mastermind, was convicted on charges of aiding and funding a terror outfit and sentenced to 10 years in prison, a term he has already served as an undertrial.
The trial of Tariq Ahmed Dar, Mohammed Rafiq Shah and Mohammed Hussain Fazli began on 14 January, 2008 on charges of terror, murder, criminal conspiracy , and several other provisions of the IPC, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Explosive Substances Act.
While Shah and Fazli have been acquitted, Dar faces charges in a related case of money laundering filed by the Enforcement Directorate.
(Source: Times of India)
4. India Condemns Terror Attack on Pak Shrine
India broke an 11-month pattern of not condemning terror attacks in Pakistan, on Friday, signalling the stirrings of fresh attempts at breaking a chain of high-pitched stand-offs at a time a new regime is finding its feet in Washington.
The Indian foreign office's condemnation of the attack at the Sufi shrine in Sindh that left over 70 dead was the first since a suicide bombing outside a Lahore park in March 2016 that killed 74.
Then, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had telephoned his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif to convey India's condolences. Modi had also tweeted: "I strongly condemn it."
(Source: The Telegraph)
5. Five New Supreme Court Judges Sworn in but No Women Among Them
Eight months after the last judicial appointments were made to the Supreme Court, five new judges were sworn in on Friday, taking the strength to 28.
However, the latest appointments to the top court did not see any woman judge getting sworn. At present, there is only one sitting woman judge, justice R Bhanumathi, who was appointed on 13 August, 2014.
She is one of the rare trial court judges to have made it to the top court.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. Row over Army Chief Remark: Those Obstructing Operations Trying to Protect Terrorists, Says Manohar Parrikar
The government on Friday came out in support of Army Chief Bipin Rawat, who triggered a controversy with his remark that those obstructing anti-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir will face tough action.
“Those who obstruct the operations are trying to protect the terrorists, and his (General Rawat’s) comment is based on that. In these matters, the decision to act will be (of) the commanding (officer) or the officer who is on the spot. It cannot be generalised,” Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told India Today TV.
Asked whether he was worried that Rawat’s comments may lead to alienation of the people in the Valley, Parrikar said he had told the Army Chief to bring the youths who are on “wrong track” back to the mainstream.
(Source: The Indian Express)
7. Centre Plays Down Global Alarm on India Pollution
The Union government expressed concern on Friday over a recent global report attributing over a million deaths in the country in 2015 to air pollution.
However, it adhered to its stated position that though a serious issue, pollution was not the only reason that led to so many deaths.
Playing down the findings of the 'State of Global Air 2017', Union environment minister Anil Madhav Dave said India did not work on reports from outside, and preferred to rely on research done within the country.
(Source: Times of India)
8. Can Singing National Anthem be Made Mandatory in Schools? Supreme Court to Examine
After making it compulsory for cinema halls to play national anthem before screening of film, the Supreme Court on Friday decided to examine whether the singing/playing of national anthem could be made mandatory in schools to inculcate a sense of patriotism among students.
A bench of Justices Dipak Misra, R Banumathi and M M Shantanagoudar, however, turned down a plea to make playing of national anthem mandatory in all public offices including Parliament, assemblies and courts on all working days.
It said that it would examine the plea only with regard to schools as the Centre had earlier also favoured it. The bench was referring to statement of Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi who had on 14 February told the bench that singing of national anthem should be made mandatory in schools.
(Source: Times of India)
9. Airport Sheds Body Scanners in Delhi
When Delhi airport installed two full-body scanners in November, the fear was they might reveal too much and raise privacy concerns.
Both machines were withdrawn a week ago after failing to detect heroin capsules hidden inside a passenger's body.
The CISF, in charge of airport security, has written to the home ministry that repeated technical glitches and resistance from passengers, especially women, over privacy and cultural issues too played a part in the latest decision.
"We have stopped the use of the body scanners at Delhi airport," CISF director-general OP Singh confirmed to The Telegraph.
(Source: The Telegraph)
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