TOP NEWS

Amid a manhunt against Amritpal Singh and his outfit Waris Punjab Da, the pro-Khalistan preacher has put three conditions before the Punjab Police to surrender, sources said

The radical leader has been on the run since March 18 when Punjab Police launched a crackdown against him. He managed to give police a slip after his convoy was intercepted in Jalandhar on March 18. Since then, he has been absconding.

Amritpal Singh reportedly returned to Punjab on Tuesday but police failed to catch him as he managed to escape, dodging a police checkpost in Hoshiarpur district of the state. A team of police reportedly chased an Innova car on suspicion that Amritpal Singh and his associates including Papalpreet Singh were inside it. However, the suspects fled and left the car in Marnaian village of Hoshiarpur.

The hate speech hearing in Supreme Court remained stormy for the second day running on Wednesday with intense exchanges between Justice K M Joseph and Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta. The Centre’s top law officer beseeched for a direction to petitioner Shaheen Abdulla through his lawyer Nizam Pasha not to target the Hindu community alone, but bring to fore hate speeches by Muslims too for a blanket clamp down on “hate speeches across religion”.

"Why petitioner Shaheen Abdullah from Kerala is blind to hate speeches close to his home? Why is he seeking to target one community in one particular state? If he is genuinely public-spirited, he must bring on record hate speeches across religions, the SG asked.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday told NCP leader and Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal that there cannot be a separate norm for a lawmaker on suspension of conviction and sentence in a criminal case.

A bench of justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna said, "When there is a prima facie opinion based on materials before the court that it is a case of acquittal only then suspension of conviction and sentence can be done. There cannot be a separate norm for Member of Parliament and Member of Legislative Assembly for suspension of conviction and sentences."  

The remarks were made by the court after senior advocate AM Singhvi, appearing for Faizal, said that what weighed in the mind of the Kerala High Court while suspending his conviction and sentence is that he is an elected representative and if his conviction and sentence is not stayed it will lead to his disqualification and subsequently polls need to be held.  

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, accusing the BJP stalwart of heading an alliance of corrupt individuals while setting central agencies after opposition leaders.

In a series of tweets, Kharge repeated Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's charge against billionaire Gautam Adani's shell companies and questioned who had invested Rs 20,000 crore in them.

"Who owns Rs 20,000 Cr in Adani's Shell Cos? Are Lalit Modi, Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya, Jatin Mehta etc. members of your "Bhrashtachari Bhagao Abhiyan"? Are you the convenor of this alliance? Stop this image makeover by calling yourself the Anti-Corruption Crusader," Kharge tweeted in Hindi.

Big achievement for PM Modi's ambitious 'Make In India' project: It's a BIG BOOST to PM Narendra Modi's ambitious 'Make In India' project as Apple iPhone shipments have touched a new milestone.

As per an IANS report, 'Make in India' shipments from Apple grew 65 per cent (on-year) by volume and 162 per cent by value, taking the brand's value share to 25 per cent in 2022, up from 12 per cent in 2021, a new report by Counterpoint Research has shown.

In Q4 2022, Samsung emerged as the top smartphone manufacturer, ahead of OPPO whose manufacturing shipments declined 31 per cent YoY due to inventory issues in the entry-tier segment.