Supreme Court

The Supreme Court said it will hear on Tuesday the bail pleas of some of the convicts against whom specific allegations were made in the 2002 Godhra train burning case, which plunged Gujarat into a communal conflagration.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandcrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said the pleas will be heard on August 1.
We have distributed the cases in four categories. In one group is where death penalties were commuted (into life imprisonment) by the high court. The other is of the convicts who have a specific part to play. We have said non-bail (in the second category). The third one is of the people who had peripheral presence and were part of the mob, the bench said.
The fourth category is of those who are old and have been facing some kind of problems, it said, adding there was one convict whose wife had cancer.
The bench asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Gujarat government, to provide the chart to senior advocate Sanjay

Teesta Setalvad

The Supreme Court late Saturday night protected social activist Teesta Setalvad from arrest and stayed for a week the Gujarat High Court order rejecting her plea for regular bail and asking her to surrender immediately in a case of alleged fabrication of evidence to frame innocent people in 2002 post-Godhra riot cases.
In a special late-night hearing, a bench of Justices B R Gavai, A S Bopanna and Dipankar Datta questioned the denial of time to Setalvad to appeal against the HC order, saying even an ordinary criminal is entitled to some form of interim relief.
The three-judge bench heard the matter in a special sitting after a two-judge vacation bench differed on granting interim protection from arrest to Setalvad.
"After having heard this Special Leave Petition for some time, we are unable to agree while deciding the prayer for interim relief. Therefore, it will be appropriate if, under the orders of the Hon'ble the Chief Justice of India, this petition is placed before the ...

A three-judge Supreme Court bench  commenced hearing late on Saturday night the plea by social activist Teesta Setalvad seeking interim protection from arrest in a case of alleged fabrication of evidence to frame innocent people in 2002 post-Godhra riots cases.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai, A S Bopanna and Dipankar Datta is hearing the matter in a special sitting after a two-judge vacation bench differed on granting interim protection to Setalvad.
"After having heard this Special Leave Petition for some time, we are unable to agree while deciding the prayer for interim relief. Therefore, it will be appropriate if, under the orders of the Hon'ble the Chief Justice of India, this petition is placed before the appropriate larger Bench.
"The Registrar (Judicial) is directed to place this order immediately before the Hon'ble the Chief Justice of India," the two-judge bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Prashant Kumar Mishra said earlier in the evening.
Setalvad approached the apex court 

The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to eight people sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2002 Godhra train burning case which plunged Gujarat into a communal conflagration.
A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha, while granting them the relief took note of the time they have already served and the unlikelihood of their appeals being taken up for disposal anytime soon.
"We direct that the convicts be released on bail subject to such terms and conditions as may be imposed by the sessions court," the bench said.
The top court, however, refused to grant bail to four convicts after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed their applications highlighting their role in the incident.
Senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, appearing for the convicts whose bail petitions were rejected, requested the bench to adjourn the hearing on their applications saying there is a festival tomorrow.
Mehta, who represented the Gujarat government, had earlier said it was not merely a

With a special court in Gujarat acquitting all 67 accused, including former state minister Maya Kodnani, in the case of post-Godhra riots in Ahmedabad's Naroda Gam that claimed the lives of 11 Muslim community members, focus is now back on similar cases related to one of the most turbulent times in the state's history.
Apart from the Naroda Gam case, seven other 2002 post-Godhra riots cases were investigated by the Supreme Court (SC)-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT).  1) Gulberg Society case: Sixty-nine people, including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, were killed in the violence at Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad in February 2002. The trial court gave its verdict and sentenced 24 people in the case, of whom 11 were sentenced to life imprisonment. The case is pending before the high court.  2) Naroda Patiya case: Ninety-six people, mostly belonging to a minority community, were killed in the riots at Naroda Patiya in Ahmedabad. The trial court sentenced 32 convicts, including .

Supreme Court (Photo: Wikipedia)

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday bail pleas of several convicts serving life imprisonment in the 2002 Godhra train burning case.
A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala is scheduled to hear along with the bail applications a batch of pleas of the convicts challenging their convictions.
On March 24, the top court had said it will dispose of the bail applications of the convicts on the next date of hearing of the matter.
It had taken note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Gujarat government, that he has to verify certain factual details with regard to some convicts.
The top court had, however, extended the bail granted to one of the convicts on the ground that his wife was suffering from cancer. Mehta had supported the extension of bail on medical grounds.
Earlier on March 17, the top court had said it will hear on March 24 the appeal of the Gujarat government and the bail pleas of ..

hunger

The Supreme Court on Friday said it will dispose of the bail pleas of several convicts serving life imprisonment in the 2002 Godhra train burning case on April 10.
A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Gujarat government, that he has to verify certain factual details with regard to some convicts.
The bench, also comprising justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala, considered the submissions of the law officer and adjourned the hearing to April 10, and said it will "dispose of" the pending bail pleas of the convicts on that day.
The bench, meanwhile, extended the bail granted to one of the convicts earlier on the ground that his wife was suffering from cancer.
"His wife is suffering from cancer. My consent may be recorded," said the law officer while supporting the extension of bail.
Earlier on March 17, the top court had said it will hear on March 24 the appeal of the Gujarat government and

Godhra

The Gujarat government on Monday told the Supreme Court that it will press for death penalty to 11 convicts whose sentences in the 2002 Godhra train burning case were commuted to life imprisonment by the state's high court.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala also fixed the bail pleas of several accused in the case for hearing after three weeks. It asked counsel for both sides to file a consolidated chart giving details such as actual sentences awarded to them and the period spent in jail till now.
We will be seriously pressing for award of death penalty to the convicts whose death penalties were commuted into life imprisonment (by the Gujarat High Court). This is the rarest of rare cases where 59 people, including women and children, were burnt alive, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Gujarat government, told the bench.
It is consistent everywhere that the bogey was locked from outside. Fifty-nine died, ...

The Gujarat government has opposed in the Supreme Court the bail pleas of some convicts of the 2002 Godhra train burning case, saying they were not mere stone-pelters and their acts prevented people from escaping the burning coach.
On February 27, 2002, 59 people were killed when the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express was burnt at Godhra, triggering the riots in the state.
The matter came up for hearing on Friday before a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha.
The apex court, while asking the state to specify the individual roles of the convicts, observed that bail pleas of those who were accused of stone pelting could be considered as they have already spent 17-18 years in jail.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state of Gujarat, said these convicts threw stones on the train which prevented people from escaping the burning coach.
"It is not a case of mere stone pelting," he told the bench.
Mehta told the bench that appeals filed by the conv

A court here has sentenced to life imprisonment an accused in the case of Godhra train carnage in 2002 in which 59 'karsevaks' were killed, which had triggered worst riots in the history of Gujarat

Bhatuk (51) was part of the "core group" of the accused persons involved in the entire conspiracy

The High Court pronounced its verdict on a set of appeals challenging convictions and acquittals by a special SIT court in the 2002 Godhra train coach burning case

Overseas institutions are also a better bet for Adani. Tapping Indian banks, especially state-run lenders, would be a tad cheaper, but might invite greater political scrutiny ahead of general election

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454 members voted in favour of the Bill, while two voted against it.

Lok Sabha

As they did in June, Fed policymakers at the median still see the central bank's benchmark overnight interest rate peaking this year in the 5.50%-5.75% range

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Closing Bell on Thursday, September 21: The broad-based selling was led by public sector banks with the Nifty PSU Bank index sliding 2.3 per cent

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Tensions have been high since Canadian PM Trudeau on Monday alleged that the Indian government was behind the fatal shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar

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NCP leader Supriya Sule on Monday strongly defended the Congress after the BJP criticised it over the Women's Reservation Bill issue, saying the first woman prime minister and president were from the Congress and the legislation was also brought by it. But the bill could not be passed due to lack of numbers, she said.
Participating in the discussion in Lok Sabha on "Parliamentary Journey of 75 years starting from Samvidhan Sabha -- Achievements, Experiences, Memories and Learnings", Sule urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring the Women's Reservation Bill and assured that her party would support it.
"Most women MPs have been asking about the Women's Reservation Bill. Everyone sitting here has been concerned about it," she said on the first day of the five-day session of Parliament.
Responding to BJP MP Rakesh Singh's remarks asking what had the Congress done about ensuring reservation for women despite being in power for decades, Sule said, "I would like to set the record ...

NCP MP Supriya Sule

Cement companies' green power mix is likely to jump to 40-42 per cent by FY25 from 35 per cent in FY23, which will lead to savings of 140-160 basis points by way of lower energy cost, a report said on Monday.
Major cement players are looking at reducing their emissions by 15-17 per cent over the next 8-10 years by increasing the share of blended cement, which uses less clinker and, consequently, less fuel, Icra Ratings said in the report.
This, in turn, will help increase the share of green power intake through a mix of solar, Wind and Waste Heat Recovery System (WHRS) capacities, as per the report.
There is also a move to shift to alternate fuels, the report said.
The rating agency estimates that the share of green power will account for 40-42 per cent of the total power mix for cement companies by March 2025 from around 35 per cent in March 2023.
According to Anupama Reddy, vice-president at the agency, capital outlay towards green power investments by major cement makers for th

A Kolkata-registered company, SMPL owns limestone reserves, a key cement input, in Madhya Pradesh and is planning to come up with a cement unit there

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Buyers at "the bottom of the pyramid" who were hit by the Covid pandemic, job losses and rising petrol price, are not coming back, Bajaj said

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The 1937 painting 'The Story Teller' fetched a whopping Rs 61.8 crore at Saffronart's 'Evening Sale: Modern Art' in New Delhi

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Inspired by her 89-year-old grandmother's efforts to stay healthy, anthropologist Sayani Das said she turned her focus to geriatric health, particularly frailty syndrome. Almost eight years of research into the health and well-being of older adults, she said, helped her figure out effective strategies to prevent and manage frailty.
Now, this founding member of Centre for Ageing Studies at the International Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR) in New Delhi is hoping that as a delegate at the Australia India Youth Dialogue (AIYD) 2023 she would be able to crack the formula for scaling too.
The 11th edition of the AIYD will take place from September 19 to 22 in Delhi and Bengaluru.
"Geriatric health is not just a medical issue, its biggest challenge is the communication with the target audience, as well as caretakers and policy makers. So, I feel, this is a very good opportunity for me to collaborate with people from different fields like social workers, policy makers, law .

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The government introduced the Women's Reservation Bill in the Parliament almost three decades after it was first drafted

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Former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan said it is better if the person's expertise is considered than whether he/she is a bureaucrat or a private sector executive

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The fiscal burden of states will increase over time

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Canada said it was expelling a top Indian diplomat Monday as it investigates what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called credible allegations that India's government may have had links to the assassination in Canada of a Sikh activist.
Trudeau said in Parliament that Canadian intelligence agencies have been looking into the allegations after Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a strong supporter of an independent Sikh homeland known as Khalistan, was gunned down on June 18 outside a Sikh cultural centre in Surrey, British Columbia.
Trudeau told Parliament that he brought up the slaying with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G-20 last week, that he told Modi that any Indian government involvement would be unacceptable and that he asked for cooperation in the investigation.
Canadian Foreign Minister Mlanie Joly said the head of Indian intelligence in Canada has been expelled as a consequence. "If proven true this would be a great violation of our sovereignty and of the most basic

Hardeep Singh Nijjar

MEA's statement comes after Canada expelled an Indian diplomat on Monday as it investigates credible allegations that India's government may have had links to the assassination in Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives for his daily press conference on COVID-19, in front of his residence at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa. Photo: PTI

Justin Trudeau

Amazon Web Services (AWS) India on Thursday announced that edtech social enterprise ConveGenius has built a conversational artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot on its platform for government schools and low-free private schools.
The conversational AI chatbot platform -- SwiftChat -- aims to improve learning outcomes for school students using more than 53 conversational AI chatbots that deliver personalised learning content in 13 regional languages to over 100 million students across India.
ConveGenius has built SwiftChat Conversational AI Platform on AWS, a release said.
"Using the SwiftChat platform, which holds 124 million student profiles across 19 million devices, government schools can create omnichannel chatbots to deliver personalised learning, like curated videos and read-along content, through a single AI-enabled chatbot conversation," it said.
Besides the personalised learning, SwiftChat offers teacher training and data-driven decision-making for school administrators, ..

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ITC Hotels on Thursday announced that it has signed a management agreement with a construction company for Welcomhotel Kalimpong resort in West Bengal.
The 70-key greenfield project will spread over four acres of land and will offer plush rooms with views of the Himalayas and the valley, a company statement said.
The company announced the signing of Welcomhotel Kalimpong resort under a management agreement with Pravez Constructions Private Ltd.
"With the upcoming property of Welcomhotel Kalimpong, the group will have a strong presence across West Bengal with eight hotels across various segments," ITC Hotels Divisional Chief Executive Anil Chadha said.
He also said the 'Welcomhotel' brand trajectory is "growing fast across both business and leisure locations".
The upcoming facility in north Bengal will have an all-day dining restaurant, a lounge and a bar among other facilities.
The group portfolio currently showcases 25 Welcomhotels across India with more in the pipeline, the com

Welcomhotel opens its first property in Himachal Pradesh, at Shimla

Welcomhotel, Himachal Pradesh, ITC Hotel

Motorola Edge 40 Neo will be available with introductory offers on Flipkart and select stores on September 28

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Since its launch last year, Bansal said Meesho Mall has been growing by about 30 per cent month-on-month, processing an impressive over one crore orders in the past six months

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NMC got the Health Ministry's nod to decrease the NEET PG cutoff to zero. However, the decrease in NEET PG cut-off 2023 won't compromise the quality of education of the medical students, it claimed

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Godhra train burning case

SC to hear bail pleas of some convicts in Godhra train burning case Tuesday

SC protects Setalvad from arrest, stays Gujarat HC order for a week

3-judge SC bench starts hearing Setalvad's plea seeking interim protection

Supreme Court grants bail to 8 convicts in Godhra train burning case

Status of post-Godhra riots cases being monitored by SC panel in Gujarat

Godhra train burning case: SC to hear pleas of Guj govt, convicts on Monday

Godhra train burning: SC to hear pleas of Gujarat govt, convicts on Apr 10

Will seek death penalty for Godhra train burning convicts: Gujarat govt

Gujarat opposes SC bail pleas of some convicts in Godhra train burning case

Accused in 2002 Gujarat's Godhra train burning case gets life imprisonment

2002 Godhra train coach fire: Key accused held after 19 yrs in Gujarat

Godhra train carnage: HC spares the noose for 11 convicts

Godhra train burning case: Gujarat HC commutes death sentence of 11 to life