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What happened in last hearing?In the July 18 hearing, the top court also flagged the NTA's “hypothesis" that the paper was “leaked", solved and memorised by students withing justy 45 minutes. The lawyer appearing for one of the petitioner alleged that there was increase in the syllabus for the exam and the changes were notified just few months before.

VVIP chopper case passed away last month. Former IAF official Group Captain Navyath Santosh, who was charged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) along with three other ex IAF officials, passed away on June 28. This was informed by his counsel, earlier this month, to the Delhi High Court. It is pertinent to mention here that even after over eleven years a probe was launched into the ₹3,600 crore VVIP chopper case and even after over a dozen chargesheets filed both by CBI and ED, the trial is yet to commence. According to the CBI, its investigation into the case is still not complete. The CBI had in December 2022 moved an application before the lower court seeking to segregate the trial in a bid to kickstart the trial. Vide the said application, the CBI had argued that the accused who have joined the probe cannot be denied their «right to speedy trial.» However, the application has not yet been decided. For the CBI moved the Delhi High Court in December 2022 challenging orders passed by the special CBI court permitting a co-accused to inspect documents not relied upon by the agency.

YSRCP to hit capital street YSRCP is bringing the issue of post-poll violence in Andhra Pradesh to New Delhi. Former chief minister and YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will hold a protest with party MPs, MLAs and MLCs in the national capital. The party will organise an exhibition of photographs and videos of party workers who allegedly have been targeted by the ruling TDP over the last 45 days since the regime change. YSRCP has invited all political parties to lend support to this move. Samajwadi's wishlist After strong performance in the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party is now looking to extend its footprint beyond the state. To put pressure on Congress for an alliance in Maharashtra, all the 37 SP MPs held a public meeting in Bandra, Mumbai. SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav wants a few seats from Congress in Maharashtra and Haryana.

CapitaLand India Trust, formerly known as Ascendas India Trust, part of CapitaLand Group, has acquired realty developer Aurum Ventures’ 22-storey, fully leased sustainable office tower, spread over 8.5 lakh sq ft in Navi Mumbai’s Ghansoli locality, for Rs 707 crore, said people with direct knowledge of the development. The deal is among the largest acquisitions of a standalone commercial tower by any global institutional investor in India. CapitaLand India Trust Management has acquired the multi-tenanted tower ‘Building Q2’ in Aurum Q Parc in its capacity as trustee-manager of CapitaLand India Trust, a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) focusing on India.

Bangladesh situation remaining tense and volatile, notwithstanding the decision by the country's Supreme Court on Sunday to scrap the student reservation policy which is the genesis of the current crisis. Opposition BNP through the Jamaat-e-Islami has threatened to unseat the Hasina government and has launched a campaign to influence the country's Army to prevent it from safeguarding the dispensation. A fake letter signed by «junior officers» of Bangladesh Army was circulated with an aim to pressurise the Army Chief to take a neutral stand. Dhaka-based sources told ET that the country's security establishment is backing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. On Sunday Bangladesh's Supreme Court scrapped most of the quotas that have sparked protests and in which at least 114 people have been killed. The Supreme Court's Appellate Division dismissed a lower court order that had reinstated the quotas, directing that 93% of government jobs will be open to candidates on merit, without quotas, reports said.

National Testing Agency (NTA) published the full results of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) 2024 on its website, the Centre has maintained its claim that there is no evidence of any large-scale irregularities in the examination. Preliminary analysis of the data indicated that the highest number of students with highest scores are from Rajasthan, with as many as 482 students securing 700 plus score. A similar score was secured by 205 students in Madhya Pradesh; 194 in Kerala and 184 in Uttar Pradesh. Government sources have rejected the apprehensions that irregularities may have taken place at other centres. Government sources have maintained that the «breach» of the examination paper was «localised» and occurred only at one centre in Bihar.«Despite the breach at one centre in Bihar and hiring seven solvers, the beneficiaries (students) of wrongdoing could not benefit substantially,» said a government official on the condition of anonymity.

insolvency resolution process (CIRP) of bankrupt companies to providing financial support to fight arbitration suits or even helping companies find sector expert lawyers for fighting costly disputes, a clutch of litigation funding startups are offering a range of services in the third-party funding market in India. Startups such as LegalPay, LitiCap, LegalFund and FightRight are helping companies fund their costly disputes, focusing on sectors including infrastructure, real estate, logistics, media entertainment and manufacturing.

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has moved the Supreme Court against the directives by the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments that eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route must display the names of their owners. In her plea before the top court, Moitra has sought a stay on the orders passed by the two state governments saying such directives aggravate discord between communities. The plea is yet to be listed for hearing. The TMC leader said by forcing the disclosure of the names of proprietors and even those of their staff, on the stated ground of respecting pilgrims' dietary choices, «makes it clear that dietary choices is a pretext, or a proxy, for the compelled disclosure of personal — and, in this case, religious — identity», the plea said.

Sheikh Hasina government cracking down on students-led demonstrations — more than 100 people have been killed in clashes with the police — Bangladesh is in chaos. On Sunday, the Supreme Court ordered the government to scale back a controversial job quota proposal.

Kanwar Yatra route to display their owners' names escalated as the BJP's ally RLD on Sunday joined the chorus for its withdrawal and the opposition parties stated they will raise the issue in Parliament. The issue has also reached the Supreme Court which is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea filed by an NGO — Association of Protection of Civil Rights — against the UP government order. Extensive arrangements have been made across several states for the Kanwar Yatra that starts on Monday with the beginning of the Sawan month of the Hindu calendar during which lakhs of Shiva devotees carry the holy water from the Ganges in Haridwar to their homes while offering it at Shiva temples on their way. The opposition has alleged that the order on eateries is «communal and divisive» and intended to target Muslims and Scheduled Castes by forcing them to reveal their identity. But the BJP maintained that the step has been taken keeping in mind law and order issues and the religious sentiments of pilgrims.

NEET-UG candidates have scored zero or negative marks in the controversy-ridden medical entrance exam this year, according to the centre-wise results announced by the National Testing Agency. The lowest marks scored by any candidate in the crucial exam is -180 at a centre in Bihar. According to an analysis of the city- and centre-wise results released on Saturday by the NTA, over 2,250 candidates have scored zero marks, while over 9,400 candidates have scored marks in negative. There are several candidates at the centre under scanner in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh who have scored less than zero marks.

Bangladesh’s top court on Sunday scaled back a controversial quota system for government job applicants after it led to nationwide unrest and deadly clashes between police and protesters that have killed scores of people. The Supreme Court in its verdict ordered 93% of the government jobs to be allocated on a merit-based system, leaving the remaining 7% for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971 and other categories. Earlier, the system reserved 30% of such jobs the relatives of war veterans. Sunday's verdict comes after weeks of demonstrations — mostly led by students — that turned deadly on Tuesday after protesters began clashing with police. During the week, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets and hurled smoke grenades to scatter stone-throwing protesters who filled the streets and university campuses. Sporadic clashes in some parts of Dhaka, the capital, were reported on Saturday but it was not immediately clear whether there were any fatalities.

The nationwide demonstrations — called for mainly by student groups — began weeks ago to protest a quota system that reserves up to 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971. Violence erupted Tuesday, with the Daily Prothom Alo newspaper on Saturday reporting the death of at least 103 people so far. Bangladeshi authorities haven't shared any official numbers of those killed and injured.

Lalit Bhasin, an independent director at Godfrey Phillips, has refuted allegations made against him by Samir Modi, a promoter and board member of the tobacco company. Samir Modi claimed that he was assaulted at a board meeting in May at the behest of other directors, including his mother Bina Modi and Bhasin. «This is something personal. Defamatory, libellous, outrageous allegations have been made against me,» Bhasin told ET.

NTA) today released the centre and city-wise results for the NEET-UG medical entrance exam, following a Supreme Court directive. The results, initially announced on June 5, were re-released in this format due to ongoing Supreme Court hearings regarding alleged irregularities in the exam, including concerns about a possible paper leak. The NEET-UG exam, held on May 5, was administered at 4,750 centres across 571 cities, including 14 international locations, with over 24 lakh candidates participating. The Supreme Court had ordered that the results be published with masked identities to determine if candidates from centres under scrutiny scored differently compared to those from other locations. Direct link to check results: https://neet.ntaonline.in/frontend/web/common-scorecard/index

Puri Jagannath Temple’s Ratna Bhandar during the shifting of valuables on Thursday, reported TOI. The Ratna Bhandar was reopened by the Odisha government on July 14 for restoration and inventory after 46 years. “We found some ancient idols in Ratna Bhandar on July 14. We have now come across a few swords and javelins near a wooden chest within the inner chamber. The weapons were very heavy and had turned black,” said one of the 11 committee members who entered the treasury to TOI.

Supreme Court seeking directions to the Centre and states for taking appropriate steps to eradicate the menace of superstition, sorcery and other similar practices. The plea says a strict anti-superstition and sorcery law is urgently needed to do away with the unscientific acts prevalent in the society that adversely impact the community and also to prevent fake seers from exploiting innocent people. The petition, filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, has also sought directions to the Centre and states for taking steps to develop a scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform among the citizens in the spirit of Article 51A of the Constitution, which deals with fundamental duties. «Petitioner is filing this writ petition as PIL under Article 32 seeking appropriate writ, order or direction to Centre and states to take appropriate steps to control superstition and sorcery in order to secure the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 21, 25 of the Constitution,» the plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey, says.

Surendra Singh Ahluwalia was acquitted in a 37-year-old corruption case by special judge Anil Antil on July 12, reported TOI. «Delay by any stakeholder or cog in the dispensation of the criminal justice system, be it by the investigating agency or by the unscrupulous devices adopted by the accused, not only causes miscarriage of justice, but the delay also becomes an instrument of inflicting a fatal blow on the efforts of justice dispensation,» said Justice Antil. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 1987 filed an FIR against Ahluwalia, who was at the time the chief secretary of Nagaland and three others — V Bhaskaran, manager of Bank of Baroda, Coimbatore, Inderjit Singh, Ahluwalia’s brother and Bank of Baroda manager in Kohima, and Nyamo Lotha for fraud, destruction of evidence, corruption and other crimes.

The mastermind behind the collapse of the digital currency platform AAX has been arrested after evading authorities for 20 months.

body shaming and freedom of speech to the fore, a Milan court has ordered a journalist to pay Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni damages of EUR 5,000 or $5,465 for making fun of her height in a social media post. It also awarded Giulia Cortese a suspended fine of EUR 1,200 for a jibe on Twitter, now known as X, reports Reuters. Giorgia Meloni compared to Benito Mussolini The controversy began in 2021 when Cortese published a mocked-up photo of Giorgia Meloni with a picture of the late fascist leader Benito Mussolini in the background. In the following tweet, the journalist wrote, «You don't scare me, Giorgia Meloni. After all, you're only 1.2 meters (4 feet) tall. I can't even see you.» The Italian prime minister launched legal action against the journalist after she clashed with her on social media.

ICICI Securities is likely to reach the Bombay High Court soon. The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) clarified that it lacks authority to judge the legality of the exemption granted by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for delisting the broking firm without the reverse book-building process. It also indicated that the matter must be moved to the appropriate forum. Senior counsel Kaushik Chatterjee, who represented the shareholders before the NCLT, argued that the Sebi has illegally granted an exemption to ICICI Securities under Section 37 (1) of the Delisting Regulations. This exemption allows ICICI Securities to delist its shares from the bourses without going through the reverse book-building process despite the requirement that the listed holding company and the listed subsidiary be in the same line of business, he said. «No one has seen the exemption letter as both the Sebi and ICICI Securities have refused to share the letter with shareholders,» said Chatterjee. «So, we are not left with any choice except to move High Court Mumbai to challenge the legality of exemption granted by Sebi to both the companies from not being in the same line of business.»