Indian Sub-continent

New Delhi, Jan 25 (PTI) The Supreme Court Friday decided to examine the Centre's decision to grant 10 percent reservation in jobs and education to poor candidates belonging to general category.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna issued notice to the central government on various petitions challenging the validity of the Constitution (103 Amendment) Act, 2019, which paved the way for grant of quota to poor belonging to general category.

New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) The Supreme Court Thursday refused to stay the proposed amendments to the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act which restored the no anticipatory bail provision for the accused.

A bench headed by Justice A K Sikri said the pending review petition filed by the Centre against the apex court's March 20, 2018 verdict and the pleas challenging the new amendments made in the SC/ST verdict will be taken up together.

The bench referred the matter to the Chief Justice for reconstitution of a bench which Justice U U Lalit was a part of.

New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) Amid renewed demands against the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs), Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Thursday asserted that the Election Commission is not going back to ballot papers.

EVMs are being used as a "football" due to a "motivated slugfest", he said.

"I would like to make it very, very clear one more time that we are not going back to the era of ballot papers," Arora said, addressing a gathering ahead of National Voters Day.

Agartala, Jan 24 (PTI) A man was arrested on the charge of raping his 4-year-old daughter in Dhalai district, police said Thursday.

The 4-year-old child complained of severe pain in her private parts when she was at her Anganwadi school and when the teacher questioned her, she revealed what her father had done to her.

The Anganwadi school teacher then filed an FIR on the basis of which the accused was arrested Wednesday, Superintendent of Police Sudipta Das said.

Aligarh (UP), Jan 24 (PTI) Aligarh Muslim University has served a show-cause notice to a student leader over a `tiranga yatra' through the campus, saying it was held without permission and triggering a row.

The university said it followed procedure and believed that the motorcycle procession was meant to polarise students on the campus.

But the leader from the BJP's student wing alleged bias and said he would complain to the Human Resource Development Ministry.

New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) A fresh plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking court-monitored investigation into the murder of former Gujarat minister Haren Pandya.

Pandya, a former minister of state for home in the then Narendra Modi government in Gujarat, was shot dead on March 26, 2003, in Ahmedabad near Law Garden area of the city during his morning walk.

The petition, filed by NGO CPIL, said that there was a need for the fresh probe in the case as some "startling information" has recently come to light which needs to be looked into.

New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) The meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led selection committee to decide on the next CBI chief remained inconclusive, officials said Thursday.

They said no decision on the CBI director's post was taken at the meeting.

"A list of eligible officers along with their dossiers was shared with the panel members. But no decision has been taken so far," an official said requesting anonymity.

He said another meeting of the panel will be held soon to finalise the name.

New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) Students, farmers and veterans along with several other groups will launch a nine-day protest meet here against the government, starting January 30.

The groups, led by Left-backed All India Kisan Sabha, said the protest meet will be held at Jantar Mantar from January 30 to February 7.

Mumbai, Jan 24 (PTI) A POCSO court sentenced a 25-year-old man to seven years of imprisonment on Thursday for raping a minor girl here in 2016.

The convict, Amit Kamble, was found guilty of offences under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act as well as sections 376(2)(I) (rape), 363 (kidnapping) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code by special judge S P Kale.

The judge sentenced Kamble to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and also slapped a fine of Rs 60,000 on him.

Jammu, Jan 24 (PTI) A man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly raping a woman in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district last year, police said.

The accused was identified as Mukesh Gupta, they said.

A case was registered after a 45-year-old woman alleged that Gupta had raped her in October last at a hotel in Katra when she had come on a pilgrimage, the police said.

A police team arrested the accused from New Delhi, they said, adding that further investigation was underway.