Members of four Opposition parties — the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) — have moved a dissent note against the report of the joint committee on Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016.The Bill proposes to give citizenship to six persecuted minorities — Hindus, …

The Law Ministry on Thursday said there was no proposal to introduce reservation for women in the appointment of judges in the higher judiciary. The Ministry’s response came on an observation of a Parliamentary Standing Committee that only six women judges have been appointed in the Supreme Court till date.In …

A lawyer made a sensational claim before Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi that computers and telephones of judges and “very senior” officials are under surveillance following the December 20 order allowing 10 Central agencies to snoop on people.Advocate M.L. Sharma sought an early hearing of his PIL petition challenging …

A pan-India survey of childcare institutions (CCI) conducted by the Centre has highlighted poor safety and security measures, inadequate monitoring of these facilities, and a lack of effort to trace parents of missing children sent to these homes.The full report of the survey titled ‘Mapping and Review Exercise of Child …

Several Real Estate Regulatory Authorities (RERAs) are pushing for more enforcement power, similar to what is enjoyed by consumer forums, including the authority to issue arrest warrants. At the first meeting of a new RERA implementation committee held on Thursday, there was broad consensus that the RERA Act needed to …

On December 31, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas quietly progressed towards manufacture in an enhanced, battle standard format.A new ‘limited’ clearance from Centre for Military Airworthiness & Certification (CEMILAC), a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, for the fighter aircraft green-lights its production in a superior lethal version, …

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Thursday suspended 21 members of the Lower House for four days for creating a ruckus in the House. They included MPs from the TDP, AIADMK and an unattached YSR Congress leader. The action was taken under Rule 374 A of the Lok Sabha, meaning …

The Supreme Court on Thursday summoned Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta after getting to know that patients in a mental asylum in Badayun district of Uttar Pradesh are kept in chains.A Bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and S. Abdul Nazeer asked Mr. Mehta to take immediate action, saying, “A mentally-ill person is …

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said the government had no objection to holding Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir along with the Lok Sabha poll later this year if the Election Commission (EC) so desired.Replying to a discussion related to a statutory resolution on the President’s proclamation under …

Many toilets constructed under the Swachh Bharat Mission have already become defunct and unusable, according to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development. It slammed the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation for not bothering to find out the scope of the problem, despite an earlier recommendation to conduct a …