1. Is Privacy a Fundamental Right? Supreme Court to Decide Today
A nine-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India JS Khehar will on Thursday decide if privacy is a fundamental right, a judgment that will have a bearing on civil rights as well as Aadhaar.
The privacy verdict comes two days after the court in a landmark judgment struck down the Islamic divorce practice of instant triple talaq as unconstitutional.
The other members of the bench, which will assemble at 10.30am, are justice J Chelameswar, Justice RK Agarwal, Justice SA Bobde, Justice AM Sapre, Justice RF Nariman, Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice S Abdul Nazeer.
The CJI, who retires on 27 August, and justice Nazeer, both of whom dissented, and justice Nariman were among the five judges who also heard petitions against triple talaq.
Privacy is central to the legal challenges facing Aadhaar, the 12-digit biometric unique identity number, which has raised data breach and privacy concerns. Critics also say it helps the government spy on people.
Source: Hindustan Times
2. After 2 Accidents in 5 Days, Suresh Prabhu Offers to Quit, PM Modi Asks Him to Wait
Railway minister Suresh Prabhu offered to quit on Wednesday, following two train accidents in five days.
PM Narendra Modi’s pointed response that he should wait – while not rejecting the resignation – set off intense speculation over a Cabinet reshuffle that could be a major exercise ahead of the 2019 polls.
The train accident at Khatauli in western UP on 19 August that killed 23 people was followed by revelations of appalling negligence by railway staff. On Wednesday, 74 people were injured when 12 coaches of the Azamgarh-Delhi Kaifiyat Express derailed in UP's Auraiya district after hitting a dumper.
The two accidents have already claimed one high-profile scalp — railway board chairman AK Mittal stepped down following a nudge from the government.
He has been replaced with Ashwani Lohani, chairman and managing director of Air India, who is originally from the Indian Railway Mechanical Engineering department.
Source: The Times of India
3. Ram Rahim Singh Rape Case Verdict: Section 144 Imposed, Dera Chief Tweets Message of 'Selfless Service'
Ahead of the verdict in a murder case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, at least 2,000 security personnel, including Haryana Police and paramilitary forces, were deployed in Panchkula.
Several roads were barricaded as the district administration braced for a possible clash in case the verdict against Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh goes against him.
Police personnel were deployed throughout the city even as they restricted the entry to the Sector 1 district courts and also blocked three out of four entry points.
At least 500 security personnel have been assigned to be around the district courts alone. Traffic movement was blocked on all arterial roads, including Chandigarh-Old Panchkula link road to NH-22, which also leads to Sector 1 and the district courts. The state government has in the meantime imposed Section 144 of CrPC in all districts.
The ultimate aim to prevent Dera followers from assembling at the district court complex, where the special CBI court is scheduled to pronounce the verdict on Friday.
Source: Indian Express
4. 'Creamy Layer' Income Bar for OBCs Raised to Rs 8 Lakh, New Panel to Take Call on Sub-Categories
The government on Wednesday announced a panel for sub-categorisation of other backward classes for a “more equitable distribution” of quota benefits, as it raised the income ceiling for “creamy layer”.
The creamy layer, the ceiling that bars people in the OBC category from getting reservation in jobs, has been raised from Rs 6 lakh a year to Rs 8 lakh.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley said the commission, which will have to present its report in 12 weeks from the date it is formed, will examine the extent of inequitable distribution of reservation benefits among the castes and communities.
The minister, who was talking to mediapersons after a cabinet meeting, said there was no plan for a relook at the reservation system as he also ruled out sub-categorisation of scheduled castes on the lines of OBCs.
Source: Hindustan Times
5. It’s Official! India to Get Rs 200 Notes For First Time Ever
India is all set to get Rs 200 notes, for the first time ever. The Central government, on 23 August, specified the introduction of the Rs 200 banknotes.
The notes are likely to be put in the circulation by the end of September.
On 18 August, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a notification stating that the central bank would soon issue Rs 50 denomination banknotes with a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi in the front and a motif of Hampi chariot at the back. However, the current Rs 50 notes would continue to be legal tender, the RBI added.
ANI reported that the decision to introduce Rs 200 notes was taken by the central bank in consultation with the Finance Ministry in March.
Read the full story on The Quint.
6. Swine Flu Kills 1,094 in India in 8 Months
The number of deaths caused by swine flu in the country has touched 1,094. Of them, 342 people have died due to the viral illness in the past three weeks.
The latest data on swine flu, released by the Union health ministry on Wednesday, reveals that Maharashtra and Gujarat are worst affected by the viral influenza with 437 and 269 deaths, respectively.
States like Rajasthan, Kerala and Delhi have also reported a high incidence of the disease.
The H1N1 strain in circulation this year is different from that in previous years, said Dr AC Dhariwal, director of NCDC.
The virus in circulation this year is of the Michigan strain. Earlier, it was mostly the California strain.
He said the new strain could be a reason for the increased incidence and mortality, but it is yet to be proved scientifically. The AIIMS and Pune's National Institute of Virology said the same thing.
Source: The Times of India
7. Col Purohit Claims He Kept Army in Loop, Army Blew His Cover
A key defence of 2008 Malegaon blast accused Lt Col Shrikant Prasad Purohit, who stepped out of Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai Wednesday after being granted bail by the Supreme Court, was that he had infiltrated radical Hindutva groups as an intelligence officer and had informed his superiors about it.
In interviews, Purohit maintained that the Army always stood by him.
But an inquiry, conducted by the Directorate General of Military Intelligence after it was informed by the Intelligence Bureau of his involvement, found that he had taken counter-measures to dissociate himself from the blast case and generated intelligence on the alleged involvement of accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur after learning from his sources that she was going to be held by the Maharashtra ATS.
The inquiry concluded that “the officer is highly indoctrinated, deals with illegal proliferation of weapons and hiding facts”.
The inquiry report also said that his wife, Aparna Purohit, “revealed that her husband has deep hatred for Islam and he may be involved in activities directed against them”.
Source: Indian Express
8. Nandan Nilekani Set to Return as Infosys' Non-Executive Chairman
Nandan Nilekani, the architect of Aadhaar, is set to return to Infosys, the company he co-founded 36 years ago at the age of 26, as non-executive chairman in the next few days.
He will come for a predetermined period with the aim of achieving a bunch of predetermined goals, mainly identifying the next CEO and giving him enough air cover to find his bearing in the top job.
Restoring investor, customer and employee confidence in the company will be another priority.
Nilekani, who until the weekend was very sure that he would not take a formal position in Infosys — he quit in 2009 to join the Manmohan Singh government as chairman of UIDAI — was persuaded to rethink by well-wishers, big investors and crucially some board members.
Sources say things are still fluid at the moment with Nilekani yet to sign off formally on his comeback because a number of things – including a buy-in by founder N R Narayana Murthy into this plan – have to fall in place before a formal announcement.
Source: The Times of India
9. Man Arrested for Cutting Minor Girl’s Hand With Sword in UP
A man was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly attacking a 13-year-old girl with a sword in Lakhimpur Kheri and inflicting grievous injuries on her head and hands, the police said.
The incident occurred on the busy Mela Road, under the Kotwali police station, in the afternoon. Those present on the road chased the accused and managed to overpower him.
Subsequently, the accused, identified as Rohit Chaurasiya, 26, was handed over to the police.
The injured girl was rushed to the district hospital, from where she was referred to the state capital of Lucknow.
The cause of the attack is considered to be a one sided love affair.
However, the superintendent of Police (SP) S Channappa, who visited the girl, told reporters that a dispute over a mobile phone charger was said to be the reason behind the attack.
Read the full story on The Quint.
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