NEWS

With pollution somewhat loosening its annual wintry grip over Delhi and NCR, the Supreme Court on Friday relegated back to the executive the task of constant monitoring of ambient air quality over the national capital region and indicated reopening of schools and industries and resumption of construction activities could be on the cards.

A bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant directed the Commission for Management of Air Quality over NCR and Adjoining Regions to consult NCR states - Delhi, UP, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab - while deciding scores of applications by industries for restarting activities and pleas by builders and hospitals for resumption of construction activities as well as take decisions for reopening of schools.

When the entire nation is mourning the tragic loss of CDS General Bipin Rawat and 12 other bravehearts that India lost in an IAF chopper crash on December 8, Rajasthan police have arrested a man for allegedly making a derogatory statement against Gen Rawat on social media.

A man was arrested from Rajasthan for allegedly making indecent remarks against Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat who was killed when a Mi17V5 helicopter carrying them crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu.

The 21-year-old accused, Javed Khan is a resident of Rajasthan's Nazarbag. He was arrested on Thursday by the police, said SHO Kotwali police station of Tonk, Jitendra Singh

The Bengal government alleged on Friday that the Centre has declined at the last minute CM Mamata Banerjee’s request to go to Kathmandu to attend the inaugural session of Nepali Congress’s 14th national convention.

Banerjee had sought permission from the ministry of external affairs to attend the session on Friday, following Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba’s invite to the CM on November 26. Deuba wrote that Banerjee’s “presence will encourage us to work together in strengthening democracy in our region and beyond and reinforce our party-to-party relations”.

The Bengal government, according to rules, sought clearance from the ministry. The MEA sought “clarifications”, to which the state responded, senior state government officials said. But clearance was declined “very late on Thursday” because it was a “private invite”, they said.

Former CJI Ranajan Gogoi, who was nominated to Rajya Sabha as a member by the NDA government in March last year, on Thursday said that he remained independent of party affiliations and would not be amiss in faulting the government when the need arises.

In relation to his autobiographical account 'Justice for the Judge', TOI asked - "You in the book said that you have not opted for party affiliation within six months of taking oath as a MP after being nominated to Rajya Sabha and hence you remain independent of the party in power that nominated you to Parliament. But somewhere in the back of the mind, one remains obligated to the party that had nominated the person to Rajya Sabha as a MP. Your thoughts."