India

New Delhi, Sep 14 (PTI) Activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan said on Monday that paying of the token fine of Re 1 imposed on him by the Supreme Court in a contempt case does not mean that he has accepted the verdict and would file a review petition against the judgement.

New Delhi, Sep 14 (PTI) The Centre on Monday told the Delhi High Court that marriage between same sex couples was "not permissible" as it is not recognised by "our laws, legal system, society and our values".

The submission was made before a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan by Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta during hearing of a PIL seeking a declaration that same sex marriages be recognised under the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA) and Special Marriage Act.

Kanpur (UP), Sep 14 (PTI) An eight-member SIT formed by the Kanpur police is looking into allegations of forced conversion on the pretext of marriage and has come across over a dozen such cases, an official said.

The SIT was formed about a fortnight ago after some members of Hindu organisations met Kanpur IG Mohit Agarwal, alleging love jihad incidents.

The issue had surfaced after a Kanpur woman, Shalini Yadav, married a Muslim man recently. The couple, however, approached a Delhi court, denying allegations of forced conversion.

Kolkata, Sept 14 (PTI) Reacting to the arrest of JNU alumnus and rights activist Umar Khalid in connection with the Delhi riots, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that action should be taken if there is evidence of wrongdoing.

Apparently hitting out at the BJP-led government at the Centre, Banerjee, who has been one of its most stringent critics, said those involved in "movements (against NPR, NRC) have been targeted (by the ruling party)".

New Delhi, Sep 14 (PTI) Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday called for according equal respect to all languages and emphasised that no language should either be imposed or opposed.

Addressing an online event organised to mark 'Hindi Divas -2020', he said all Indian languages have rich history and people should be proud of the country's language diversity and cultural heritage.

Jammu, Sep 14 (PTI) Several organisations of Kashmiri Pandits observed Martyr's day here and in Delhi on Monday, demanding their rehabilitation in the Valley and setting up of a panel to probe the "genocide" the community was allegedly subjected to.

The Kashmiri Pandits have been observing 'Balidan Divas' (Martyr's day) since 1990 to pay homage to the community members and security forces who laid down their lives fighting terrorism in the Union Territory.

New Delhi, Sep 14 (PTI) Seven former civil servants have moved the Supreme Court to become parties to a pending plea seeking stay of telecast of Sudarshan TV's 'Bindas Bol' programme on alleged "infiltration" of Muslim into bureaucracy.

The Delhi High Court, on September 11, had declined to stay the telecast of the series of programmes, whose promo had claimed that the channel would show the 'big expose on conspiracy to infiltrate Muslims in government service'.

New Delhi, Sep 14 (PTI) Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday said he has tested positive for COVID-19 and has gone into self-isolation.

Sources said that over the past few days, he visited the official residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, met Health Minister Satyendra Jain and held meetings with education department officials.

Bilaspur, Sep 14 (PTI) A tantrik was arrested from Chhattisgarh's Janjgir-Champa district for allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl on the pretext of curing her, police said on Monday.

Habbu Maulvi alias Shakir Raja Qureshi (44) was arrested on Sunday from Kotmi Sonar village, JP Gupta, Station House Officer (SHO) of Bilaspur's Sipat police station said.

"Last week, the victim's parents, who hail from Mungeli district, had registered a zero FIR which was transferred to Sipat police station on Saturday," he said.

New Delhi, Sep 14 (PTI) The government on Monday banned the export of all varieties of onions with immediate effect, a move aimed at increasing availability and curbing prices of the commodity in the domestic market.

"The export of all varieties of onions... is prohibited with immediate effect," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.

The DGFT, an arm of the commerce ministry, deals with exports and imports-related issues.