The bar of double jeopardy does not arise if an accused was discharged of a criminal offence, even before the commencement of trial, on the basis of an invalid sanction for prosecution, the Supreme Court has held. Article 20 (2) of the Constitution mandates that a person cannot be prosecuted …

Initial contract is to despatch 50,000 tonnes to COFCO In a boost to sugar mills sitting on surplus stocks, India will start raw sugar exports to China in early 2019, and is in talks to finalise exports to Indonesia and Malaysia as well. In a statement on Thursday, the Commerce …

The Supreme Court has upheld the “presumption” that a couple who live together as husband and wife are legally married and the woman can claim maintenance under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. A Bench of Justices R. Banumathi and Indira Banerjee observed that it is “fairly well …

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday expressed appreciation for the United States’ waiver on India-Iran energy trade and the Chabahar Port project. MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the port would be of importance in helping the situation in Afghanistan, but reiterated that India would continue to import Iranian …

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has constituted a three-member team of independent wildlife experts to probe how the man-eating tiger Avni (T1) was killed. After animal activist and Union Minister Maneka Gandhi criticised the killing of Avni (which was legally sanctioned by Maharashtra’s wildlife authorities) last Sunday, the NTCA …

A year since the beginning of their campaign for the expulsion of the Lambada tribe from the Scheduled Tribes list, the Adivasis in Telangana are looking forward to the Assembly election to help the movement gain political currency. No political party, however, has paid the kind of attention that the …

Emerging from the shadow of the Bofors scandal, the Army on Friday inducted its first artillery gun systems in three decades. The M777 Ultra Light Howitzers from the U.S. and K9 Vajra-T self-propelled artillery gun from South Korea were inducted at the Devlali Field Firing Ranges in Maharashtra. The third …

Punjab CM Amarinder writes to PM Modi, seeks his intervention on the issue Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to maintain the status quo in filling up of civil posts in Chandigarh (UT), according to an official statement here on Friday. In a letter to …

Mamallapuram and Bommayarpalayam among sites chosen for study to provide solutions In the past two decades, Tamil Nadu has reportedly lost 41% of its shoreline to erosion. As an effort to protect the coastline, National Centre for Coastal Research is preparing a report to identify vulnerable areas and propose solutions …

Evading a resolution to Sri Lanka’s political crisis through Parliament, President Maithripala Sirisena late on Friday dissolved the House. The move came just hours after his political front admitted to lacking the majority needed for its controversially-installed Prime Minister to be declared legitimate. Mr. Sirisena signed an official notification dismissing …

Though the fine is not more than Rs. 500, police hope the legal process will act as a deterrent If the beat policeman catches you dumping garbage on the roads, be prepared to go to the court to battle charges of “spreading disease”. In the past 10 days, as many …

A competent authority under the Preventive Detention Act is entitled to take action to prevent subversion of “public order,” but not in aid of maintenance of “law and order” under ordinary circumstances. Before a contravention of any law could be said to affect “public order,” it must affect the community …

What does the Supreme Court order say? On October 24, the Supreme Court banned the sale and registration of vehicles conforming to Bharat Stage (BS)-IV emission standards across the country, from April 1, 2020, citing “alarming and critical” pollution levels. With this decision, vehicle makers will only be able to …

The U.S. administration’s decision to grant India and seven other countries waivers on the sanctions it re-imposed on Iran provides some temporary relief to India. While the details of the waivers are yet to be released, the Trump administration has agreed to waive sanctions on the purchase of oil from …

The Democratic Party made a comeback in Tuesday’s midterm elections after spending two years in the political darkness, when it seized control of the House of Representatives. Yet, predictions of a “blue wave”, as a backlash to the racially charged, polarising campaign led by President Donald Trump, failed to materialise. …

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay has long been recognised in India as the person chiefly responsible, after Independence, for the revival of the country’s variegated crafts traditions and for drawing critical attention to ‘tribal art’. She is generally viewed as an authority on Indian handicrafts, but Chattopadhyay played no less a role in …

There are conceptual differences between the two countries on the Indo-Pacific The U.S. has sold nearly $15 billion worth of arms to India over the last 10 years. So the Donald Trump administration’s displeasure at India’s recent decision to buy the S-400 missile system from Russia puts a question mark …

With wild polio virus strains reduced by 99.9% since 1988, the world is inching towards eradicating polio. But unfortunately, more children today are affected by the live, weakened virus contained in the oral polio vaccine (OPV) that is meant to protect them. The weakened virus in the vaccine can circulate …

Liberals hoping that Rahul Gandhi’s Congress would rescue them from Hindutva may be in for a rude awakening The stage is all set for Assembly elections in five States — Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Telangana. Described as a ‘semi-final’ for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, they offer a …

China unveiled on Tuesday a replica of its first permanently crewed space station, which would replace the international community’s orbiting laboratory and symbolises the country’s major ambitions beyond the earth. The 17-metre core module was a star attraction at the biennial Airshow China in the southern coastal city of Zhuhai. …