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Supreme Court the appointment of two new election commissioners (ECs) under a 2023 law that excludes the Chief Justice of India from the selection committee, saying the independence of the Election Commission does not arise from the presence of a judicial member on the committee. In an affidavit filed in the apex court, the Union Law Ministry rejected the petitioner's claim that the two election commissioners were hastily appointed on March 14 to «pre-empt» the orders of the top court the next day, when the matters challenging the 2023 law were listed for hearing on interim relief. The affidavit has been filed in response to a batch of pleas, including those by Congress leader Jaya Thakur and the Association for Democratic Reforms, challenging the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Terms of Office) Act, 2023. «It is submitted that the case of the petitioners is premised on one fundamental fallacy that the independence can only be maintained in any authority when the selection committee is of a particular formulation. It must be noted that the independence of the Election commission, or any other organisation or authority, does not arise from and is not attributable to the presence of a judicial member in the selection committee,» the affidavit said.

France’s competition watchdog has hit Google with another big fine tied to a long-running dispute over payments to French publishers for their news

The Biden administration this week is expected to announce new automobile emissions standards that relax proposed tailpipe limits for three years but eventually reach the same strict standards set out by the Environmental Protection Agency

Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to list for hearing on March 21 a PIL against the practice of political parties promising freebies during elections. «This is important. We will keep this on board tomorrow,» said a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra after petitioner's lawyer in the case mentioned the matter for early hearing. The plea said there should be a total ban on populist measures to gain undue political favour from voters as they violate the Constitution, and the Election Commission should take suitable deterrent measures.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) manifesto for Lok Sabha Elections 2024. Stalin also announced a list of candidates from the ruling party of Tamil Nadu for the elections beginning April 19. Stalin's sister and member of parliament (MP) Kanimozhi and other party leaders were also present at event in Chennai.

Russia’s seizure of billions of dollars worth of foreign-owned planes has set off the biggest-ever brawl in the normally staid business of aircraft insurance. Some of the world’s biggest insurers are fighting back against claims by the aircraft’s owners. The insurers say the owners should have done more to grab planes before they were seized.

Enforcement Directorate (ED) to provide its stance on a plea by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal contesting the summons issued to him in a case related to money laundering linked to the excise policy, PTI reported. The investigation body argued that the petition filed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor, also challenging specific sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), was not maintainable. Justice Suresh Kumar Kait-led bench has granted the ED a two-week period to submit its response.

Gautam Buddh Nagar district have swiftly removed 11,682 defacements, including wall writings, posters, and banners, within 72 hours, aligning with the model code of conduct for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. This action, according to official data, targeted 9,361 defacements on public properties and 2,321 on private spaces across the district. The Election Commission's guidelines mandate the removal of all such defacements on government properties within 24 hours of election announcements. Similarly, unauthorized political advertisements on public properties and spaces must be removed within 48 hours, and those on private properties within 72 hours, subject to local laws and court directives. Local authorities in Gautam Buddh Nagar have been diligent in enforcing these guidelines, removing defacements from both public and private properties. The data indicates that 6,329 defacements were removed within 24 hours of the model code of conduct being enforced, 10,611 within 48 hours, and the total of 11,682 within 72 hours.

Donald Trump urged the Supreme Court on Tuesday to rule that he is absolutely immune from criminal charges stemming from his attempts to subvert the 2020 election. «The president cannot function, and the presidency itself cannot retain its vital independence,» the brief said, «if the president faces criminal prosecution for official acts once he leaves office.»

(Reuters) — Bankrupt drugmaker Endo International (OTC:ENDPQ) said on Tuesday a U.S. Bankruptcy Court has approved its restructuring plan and related opioid settlements to emerge from bankruptcy, which began in 2022.

Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas, Turner's legal team has taken action by petitioning a judge to reactivate the case, as revealed in court documents, according to a report by PEOPLE. The documents, filed in Miami-Dade County, Florida, signal the end of the abatement period and Turner's request for the resumption of the divorce proceedings. Marital Struggles and Separation

(Reuters) — Genesis Global Capital LLC has agreed to pay a $21 million civil fine to settle charges that it illegally sold securities through its crypto lending program without registering them, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Tuesday.

Arvind Kejriwal has challenged all the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons to him in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case at the Delhi High Court (HC). The law enforcement agency has sent multiple summons to Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi excise policy case--all skipped by the Delhi chief minister. In the recent summons, Arvind Kejriwal has been asked to appear before the agency on March 21.

Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Ajit Pawar faction of NCP to issue a public declaration that the use of «clock» symbol by it for campaigning in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections is «sub-judice and subject to the outcome» of the challenge by the Sharad Pawar faction to the decision of Election Commission of India. ECI had recognised the Ajit faction as the real NCP. Aggrieved by ECI's decision, the Sharad faction had moved the apex court. A bench headed by justice Surya Kant directed the Ajit faction to issue a public notice in newspapers in English, Marathi and Hindi editions. The bench has ordered that such a declaration should accompany all advertisements to be issued by NCP. «Such declaration shall be incorporated in every template, advertisement, audio or video clip issued» on behalf of NCP, the court ordered. The Supreme Court bench also ordered that a «man blowing Turah (trumpet)» symbol shall not be allotted to any other political party, independent candidate and the same shall not be used in any manner by the Ajit faction. ECI and the Maharashtra State Election Commission have been directed to take necessary actions in this regard.

Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to grant an interim stay on the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules of 2024 which effectively brought into force the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, however, issued notice to the central government on a slew of interim applications, as many as 20, seeking a stay on the implementation of the rules. The Centre has been given three weeks to respond to the petitions. The batch of petitions will come up for resumed hearing on April 9. Appearing on behalf of the Centre, solicitor general Tushar Mehta told the bench that CAA «does not take away citizenship of any individual». He added that it would be wholly wrong and «misleading» to equate CAA with the National Register of Citizens.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday gave an undertaking to the Supreme Court that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by him will not use the name or picture of party founder Sharad Pawar on banners, posters or any election material. Ajit Pawar had spllit the NCP in July last year and walked away with a majority of MLAs to join the BJP-Shiv Sena government led by Eknath Shinde. He furnished an undertaking before a bench of Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan pursuant to a March 14 order by the apex court. «The Respondent has duly instructed the rank and file of the party to refrain from using the photographs or name of Sharad Pawar on any poster/banner of Nationalist Congress Party,» the undertaking said.

By Jack Queen

CBDT has permitted income tax authorities to file appeals irrespective of monetary threshold in cases relating to TDS/TCS, undisclosed foreign income, or information received from investigating agencies like ED and GST Intelligence. Currently, tax authorities can file appeals before the ITAT, High Court and Supreme Court, if the disputed tax demand exceeds Rs 50 lakh, Rs 1 crore and Rs 2 crore respectively — a threshold fixed in 2019. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in a circular dated March 15 said that the said monetary limits will not be applicable for filing appeals in cases where prosecution has been filed by the department in the relevant case, and trial is pending and conviction order has been passed and the same has not been compounded. Cases where the assessment is based on information with regard to an offence alleged to have been committed under any other law and information received from law enforcement or intelligence agencies like CBI, ED, DRI, SFIO, NIA, NCB, Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), and state law enforcement agencies, in such cases the appeals would be filed irrespective of the tax demand on the assessee.

Brazilian Supreme Court today released the federal police's indictment that alleges the former president and 16 others in his close circle provided false information into the public health database to make it appear as if they had received the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic. The indictment comes one year after the federal police searched Bolsonaro’s residence to investigate if the former president and his close circle provided false data into the health ministry’s database as proof of vaccination ahead of international trips.

Global rideshare giant Uber will pay $178 million to settle a long-running dispute with Australian taxi and hire car drivers who lost out when the company entered the Australian market

Fabric and crafts retailer Joann has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as consumers continue to cut back on discretionary spending and pandemic-era hobbies