1. Citing Health, Cabinet Clears Ordinance to Ban E-Cigarettes
Moving to ban e-cigarettes across the country, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Wednesday that the Union Cabinet has approved an Ordinance that prohibits the production, import, distribution and sale of electronic cigarettes, and proposes a jail term for violating the provisions.
E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that produce an aerosol by heating a solution containing nicotine, which is the addictive substance in combustible cigarettes.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. Tabrez Case: Murder Charge Reimposed
The Jharkhand Police on Wednesday reimposed Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code ( murder) in a supplementary charge sheet filed against 11 accused in a case involving the lynching of 24-year-old Tabrez Ansari in Dhatkidih village under Seraikela police station (PS) on the night of 17-18 June this year, district police officials said.
Police also pressed the same charge against two others accused in the case.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. Ayodhya Case: SC Gives Till 18 Oct for Arguments
Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi clearly wants to deliver a verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case before he retires on 17 November and the bench headed by him that is hearing the case articulated its willingness to work weekends to do so even as it gave the petitioners room to settle the case through mediation.
On Wednesday, the five-judge bench headed by him that is hearing the case expressed hope that the hearing of the land dispute case would be over by 18 October, as indicated in the schedule given by Hindu and Muslim parties to the case.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. Win PoK Not by War but by Making Jammu and Kashmir Prosperous: Governor Satya Pal Malik
Taking a swipe at BJP leaders and ministers who have been speaking on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik Wednesday said he is against war to take back PoK. He said rapid development of J&K will ensure the return of PoK to India.
Malik’s remarks come in the wake of statements by several BJP leaders including Union ministers — Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had said future bilateral talks with Pakistan will only be on PoK while Home Minister Amit Shah had told Lok Sabha that PoK and Aksai Chin have always belonged to India.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. NRC Across Country, Will Send Excluded Out: Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Wednesday that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was not limited to Assam, and would be implemented across the country. All illegal immigrants will be “sent out of the country (desh ke bahar nikaala jayega)”, he said.
Speaking at an event organised by Hindi daily Hindustan here, Shah said: “You go to settle down in England, the Netherlands, America, nobody will allow you to enter. Then how can anyone just come to India and settle down here? Can anyone come and stay here? Countries do not function like this. A register of Indian citizens is the need of the hour. In our election manifesto, we had promised that not only in Assam, we would bring NRC in the entire country, make a register of Indian citizens. For others, action will be taken as per the law.”
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. PM Modi’s Plane Not Allowed in Pakistan Airspace: Shah Mahmood Qureshi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special flight will not fly over Pakistan on his way to the United States to attend the United Nations General Assembly later this week. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday announced that Islamabad had declined to accept a request from the Indian side to seek permission to cross Pakistani air space.
“We have conveyed to the Indian High Commission that we will not allow use of our air space for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flight,” Shah Mahmood Qureshi said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Most Buses, Taxis, Autos Won’t Ply on Roads Today Protesting Against Heavy Fines
Residents of Delhi and the national capital region (NCR) are likely to face a harrowing commute on Thursday as a big chunk of private buses, autos, app-based taxis, trucks and other modes of transport will stay off the roads in protest against steep new fines under the amended Motor Vehicles (MV) Act.
A number of schools declared holidays as many privately-run school bus services also backed the strike. Buses run by the Delhi Transport Corporation and the Delhi Metro will ply normally, government officials said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
8. Slowdown: Direct Tax Collections Now a Crawl, Shrink Govt’s Space to Cut GST
The impact of a slowing economy is showing up in government revenues with net direct tax collections in the first five-and-a-half months of 2019-20 making up just a third of the full-year target.
Net direct tax collections during 1 April-15 September grew just 5% to Rs 4.4 lakh crore, suggesting the government would have to raise more than double this amount over the next six-and-a-half months to meet the budget estimate of Rs 13.35 lakh crore. For the full year, the budget has targeted net direct taxes to grow 17.3%.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. Court Closes Case Against Former SC Staffer Who Complained Against CJI Gogoi
A Delhi court has closed criminal proceedings in an alleged cheating case against a former Supreme Court woman employee, days after the Delhi Police filed a closure report, when the complainant in the case told police he didn’t want to pursue “any further legal action” against her.
The woman employee, in April, had levelled allegations of “sexual harassment and consequent victimisation” against Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi. However, an in-house inquiry committee of the Supreme Court in May had given the CJI a clean chit, concluding it “found no substance” in the woman employee’s allegations of sexual harassment.
(Source: The Indian Express)
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