Kerala to ban ‘non-mainstream’ superstitions

The ‘Law Reforms Commission’ set up by the Kerala government two years ago has come up with a draft anti-superstition bill that will target those superstitions that cause ‘bodily harm’ and are not part of an established religion. The draft was prepared on the request of the Kerala government. The draft law will target ‘freelance’ […]

Govt ‘cannot find’ two centrally protected monuments in Delhi

The Central government can no longer find two centrally protected monuments in Delhi, junior tourism minister Prahland Singh Patel said in parliament today. There are 174 monuments/sites that enjoy protection from the central government in Delhi. These have been declared as monument of national importance in the Delhi under Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and […]

63,959 people declared foreigners by Foreigners Tribunals in Assam

A total of 63,959 people have been declared as foreigners through ex-parte proceedings by Foreigners’ Tribunals in Assam as of February this year, minister of state for home affairs said today. Ex-parte proceedings refer to those cases where the person does not turn up to contest the initial finding, and is therefore declared as a […]

“Was Expecting This” -Tanushree Dutta slams police and courts

Tanushree Dutta, the US-based former Bollywood actress, said she was hardly surprised by the Maharashtra Police’s move to file a closure report in her complaint of sexual harassment by actor Nana Patekar and said the #MeToo movement’s aim is not to win justice for the victims via the legal machinery. She alleged that ‘a corrupt […]

Relief for social media users as SC orders Yogi govt to release journalist

The Supreme Court has ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to immediately release jailed journalist Prashant Kanojia. The state will be free to carry on a case against the journalist. Hearing a plea by wife Jagisha Arora to protect the journalist’s fundamental rights, a two-judge vacation bench comprising Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Ajay Rastogi did […]

SC sets up high-powered inquiry into “conspiracy against CJI Gogoi”

The Supreme Court has appointed former judge Justice A K Patnaik to conduct a detailed inquiry into the allegation that external forces hatched a conspiracy to remove Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi from benches seized of high-profile cases. Justice Patnaik will have the full use of three investigating agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation, Delhi […]

RANJAN GOGOI CASE: Lawyer alleges big conspiracy, “offered Rs 1.5cr”

Utsav Singh Bains, the young lawyer representing many of the victims in the Asaram Bapu case, said the current sexual harassment allegations against Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi are the results of a ‘big conspiracy’ by a lobby of frustrated judges, lawyers and ‘fixers’. The lawyer, who is fighting the Asaram Bapu case without taking money […]

18-year-old girl booked under POCSO for sexual assault on 16-year-old girl

An 18-year-old woman from Kerala has been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act or POCSO, based on the complaint of a 16-year-old. The police complaint by the family of the 16-year-old says that the girl confided in them, and accused the 18-year-old woman of putting pressure on her to have sex […]

Harvest TV to be renamed ‘Tiranga TV’ after TDSAT order

Harvest TV, led by journalists like Barkha Dutt and Karan Thapar, has got permission from an industry disputes settlement body to use the name ‘Tiranga TV’. The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal has overruled the objection by the government of India that Tiranga referred to the Indian flag and can therefore not be used […]

TRAI gives extra time for selecting new packs; creates confusion among cable, DTH operators

The Telecom Regulatory Authority has given time till Mar 30 for those subscribers who have not exercised their choice under new TV channel plans. The cable and DTH providers have been told to move customers who fail to exercise their choice to a ‘best fit plan’ according to their channel choices and plan. It should […]

Delhi HC rejects plea to censor Game of Thrones, other web series

The Delhi High Court today dismissed a petition by a lawyer’s organization, Justice For Rights, seeking censoring of online content such as Game of Thrones, Spartacus, Vikings and Sacred Games. The petition, filed late last year, claimed that such videos constituted “unregulated, uncertified, sexually explicit, vulgar, profane, and legally restricted content”. The lawyers wanted the […]

TV BLACKOUT: TRAI issues show-cause notice to DTH operator

Media regulator TRAI said it has issued a show cause notice to a ‘large’ platform operator for showing black screens to its customers during the migration to the new TV channel tariff scheme. It did not give the name of the platform operator, merely noting that it was a large one. TRAI, keen to avoid […]

TRAI disputes CRISIL report, says cable, DTH not more expensive

Media regulator TRAI today issued a clarification on a report by the research wing of credit rating agency CRISIL in which the agency had claimed that the introduction of the regulator’s new TV pricing norms will increase cable and DTH prices. CRISIL had taken the example of the most popular channels to arrive its conclusion […]

RCom gives up on lender talks, to file for bankruptcy proceedings

Anil Ambani Group’s Reliance Communications has given up on reaching a debt resolution plan acceptable to all its lenders and has decided to start bankruptcy proceedings at the Mumbai National Company Law Appellate Tribunal. The original plan, unveiled in 2017, envisaged a step-by-step asset sale process through which the company planned to raise tens of […]

TDSAT refuses to intervene in TRAI’s channel pricing rules

Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal, the appellate body for resolving industry disputes in the telecom and broadcasting sector, today refused to expeditiously direct the TRAI to implement the 85:100 rule to bring down the prices of individual television channels. TDSAT refused an early hearing in a case filed by cable operator Fastway Transmissions, which […]

TRAI TARIFF ORDER: Calcutta High Court lifts stay, gives breather to LCOs

The Calcutta High Court has vacated the stay it imposed on the implementation of the new tariff scheme by TRAI, even as it gave extra time for cable operators to negotiate a deal with their feed suppliers. The stay was imposed two days ago after cable operators said that the new rules would hurt them […]

Cable operators accuse TRAI of trying to hijack customers, HC orders stay

The Calcutta High Court said it will decide whether to lift its stay on the implementation of TRAI’s new TV channel regulations on Thursday after ascertaining if cable operators genuinely have a right and wherewithal to negotiate with their feed providers. The court came to this conclusion after the TRAI disputed the complaint given by […]

Tata Sky vs TRAI: Delhi High Court issues no stay

The country seems to be all set for the implementation of a new pricing regime for cable and DTH services from Friday, with Delhi High Court posting the next date in the Tata Sky vs TRAI case without any stay order on the implementation of the 2017 tariff order. Tata Sky, Bharti Airtel and Discovery […]

Pune Cable Operators fail to get stay on TRAI tariff rollout

The Bombay High Court refused to stay the 2017 TV channel tariff order by TRAI in a case filed by the Pune Cable Operators’ Association. The new tariff scheme is scheduled to come into operation from Friday across the country, except in West Bengal. The Pune Cable Operators’ Association tried to get a stay today […]

Kerala to create ‘campus police’ to combat extremism, drug-use

The Kerala government is planning to extend a student police project, currently running in schools, to colleges in the state in an effort to contain extremism and drug use and instill positive qualities among the students. The Government Law College in Thiruvananthapuram will be the first to get a unit of Students’ Police Cadet. The […]