Watch what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on EVM controversy and ED raids on Opposition.
The BJP's Delhi unit on Monday urged Lt Governor V K Saxena to order an investigation by the CBI into all projects undertaken by the Delhi Jal Board during nine years of the Arvind Kejriwal government. Chief spokesperson of the AAP Priyanka Kakkar hit back at the BJP claiming that its "behaviour has become tediously predictable" as it "consistently engages in negative politics". In a press conference, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva claimed the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has become a "hub of corruption" under the AAP government and said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should explain why in the past nine years, there has been only five million gallons per day increase in water generation in the waterworks body. The Delhi chief minister and Water Minister Atishi should explain what they did with the Rs 29,172 crore allocated to the DJB in the past nine years for water treatment alone, he said in a statement. "Delhi BJP demands that all tendered projects of the DJB between 2015 and 2024 b
Congress leader Pawan Khera on Monday questioned probe agencies for not looking into CAG reports that he claimed had made allegations of corruption against the Union government. Addressing a press conference here, Khera, the Congress' national spokesperson, claimed CAG reports contained "serious allegations" of irregularities in infrastructure works like the Bharatmala Pariyojana, the Dwarka Expressway, all of which are part of the Union ministry of road transport and highways headed by Nitin Gadkari. Gadkari is the Bharatiya Janata Party's Lok Sabha candidate from Nagpur. He won the seat with huge margins in 2014 and 2019. Khera alleged the ministry had issued bonds worth Rs1 lakh crore without approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. He also claimed the National Highway Authority of India, which functions under the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, had taken huge loans "without application of mind", while its cost of construction had doubled. "Where is
A city court on Monday issued notice to the CBI on BRS leader K Kavitha's bail application in a corruption case linked to the alleged Delhi excise scam. Special judge for CBI and ED cases Kaveri Baweja, who sent Kavitha to judicial custody till April 23, directed the federal agency to file its reply to the application by April 22. The CBI had arrested the Telengana MLC and daughter of former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao from Tihar Jail, where she was lodged after her arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case stemming from the alleged scam. The CBI is probing alleged corruption in the formulation and execution of the AAP government's excise policy, while the ED is investigating the money laundering aspect. In her bail application in the corruption case, Kavitha said she was a "star campaigner" for her party in the general elections. She sought an interim bail while her regular bail application was pending. She alleged that the "ruling party in the
BRS leader K Kavitha on Monday moved a Delhi court seeking bail in a corruption case lodged by the CBI in connection with the alleged excise scam. The application is likely to be taken up for hearing later in the day by special judge for the CBI and ED, Kaveri Baweja, who earlier in the day sent Kavitha to judicial custody till April 23. The daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao was arrested from Tihar Jail, where she has been lodged after her arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The CBI produced the accused before court on expiry of her three-day police custody granted earlier by the judge and sought her JC. The probe agency told the court that she was not required for further custodial interrogation. Advocate Nitesh Rana, representing Kavitha along with Deepak Nagar, opposed the police plea, saying the grounds were not sufficient to keep her in custody since she is no longer required for custodial interrogation. CBI officials had recently questi
The CBI has registered an FIR against Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd, which was the second-biggest buyer of electoral bonds worth Rs 966 crore, in an alleged bribery case. Eight officials of the NISP and NMDC and two officials of MECON were also named in the FIR for receiving alleged bribe of around Rs 78 lakh in clearing bills of Rs 174 crore of Megha Engineering in connection with works related to Jagdalpur integrated steel plant, officials said Saturday. Megha Engineering had emerged as the second-biggest buyer of electoral bonds and donated the highest amount of about Rs 586 crore to the BJP, according to the data released by the Election Commission on March 21. The company also donated Rs 195 crore to BRS, Rs 85 crore to DMK, and Rs 37 crore to YSRCP. The TDP got about Rs 25 crore from the company, while the Congress got Rs 17 crore. The JD-S, Jana Sena Party and the JD-U got smaller sums ranging from Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore. According to the FIR ma
BRS leader K Kavitha had allegedly "threatened" Aurobindo Pharma Promoter Sharath Chandra Reddy to pay Rs 25 crore to the Aam Aadmi Party for five retail zones allotted to his firm under the Delhi government's excise policy, the CBI told Special Court on Friday, while seeking her custody. Kavitha had told Reddy that in case of non-payment of money his business will be harmed in Telangana and Delhi under the Excise policy, the CBI has alleged. Reddy, who was an accused under the PMLA case probed by the Enforcement Directorate, had turned an approver in the case. He has not been charged sheeted by the CBI yet. Seeking custodial interrogation of Kavitha, the CBI told Special Judge Kaveri Baweja that it was on the "insistence and assurance" of Kavitha, daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, that Reddy participated in the liquor business in the national capital. She assured him that she had contacts in the Delhi government and that she would help him in liquor
BRS leader K Kavitha is currently in judicial custody, lodged in Tihar Jail
The CBI informed a Delhi court on Wednesday it has questioned BRS leader K Kavitha in Tihar central jail in a corruption case related to the alleged Delhi excise scam. She is under judicial custody in Tihar in a money laundering case linked to the alleged scam. The court had on April 5 allowed the CBI to quiz Kavitha in jail, an order which she has challenged. The CBI informed the special judge for ED and CBI cases, Kaveri Baweja, that it interrogated Kavitha on April 6 following the court's order. The CBI made the submission in response to an application filed by advocate Nitesh Rana, appearing for Kavitha, against the CBI's plea seeking to interrogate her in judicial custody. The CBI told the court that since it has already quizzed Kavitha, it would not file a reply to her application. Rana, however, told the court that he would like to make arguments on Kavitha's application against the CBI's plea. The court posted the matter for further proceedings on April 26. Advocate Rana
The CBI has questioned BRS leader K Kavitha in connection with a Delhi excise policy-linked alleged corruption case in Tihar jail where she is lodged after her arrest by the Enforcement Directorate, officials said Tuesday. The agency was given permission by the special court to question her on the WhatsApp chats recovered from co-accused Buchi Babu's phone and documents related to a land deal after which Rs 100 crore was allegedly paid to the Aam Aadmi Party in kickbacks to swing excise policy in favour of a liquor lobby. The agency officials had gone to Tihar Jail on Saturday where she was questioned on these aspects of the case, sources said. The court's permission was mandatory to question her in Tihar jail because she was in judicial custody. Kavitha, daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, has been accused of being a key member of the "South Group", which allegedly paid the ruling AAP in Delhi kickbacks of Rs 100 crore in return for a big share of liqu
A court here on Monday denied interim bail to BRS leader K Kavitha in the Delhi excise policy-related money laundering case. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja dismissed the plea, saying the stage was not right to enlarge her on interim bail. Kavitha had approached the court for interim bail, saying her 16-year-old son has exams and needs his mother's "moral and emotional support". The ED had opposed the submission, claiming Kavitha destroyed evidence and influenced witnesses in the case. The agency had alleged that Kavitha is a key member of the "South Group", which has been accused of paying the ruling AAP in Delhi kickbacks of Rs 100 crore in return for a big share of liquor licences in the national capital. Kavitha, 46, was arrested from her Banjara Hills residence on March 15 amid protests by BRS supporters. She was then sent to seven-day ED custody the next day. Her custodial interrogation was later extended by three days. She was sent to 14-day judicial custody last Tuesday.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader is in judicial custody after being arrested in Delhi excise policy case
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday attached movable properties in the form of bank balances to the tune of Rs one crore related to some of the accused, including mastermind Yatin Yadav, in the 2022 police sub-inspector scam in Jammu and Kashmir, the agency said. The Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) conducted the examination in March 2022 but the selected list of 1,200 candidates was cancelled by the administration in July following allegations of paper leak and malpractice. The CBI, which was handed over the case, filed its chargesheet against 33 accused, including Yadav from Haryana, in November 2022. Subsequently, the ED, Jammu, registered a case against the accused under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). ED, Jammu has attached movable properties in the form of bank balances relating to accused Yatin Yadav, M/s New Global Fumigation Corporation, Prop Yatin Yadav and his associate Lokesh Kumar, to the tune of Rs 1 crore ..
BRS leader K Kavitha, arrested in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case, moved a court here on Saturday opposing a CBI plea that sought her interrogation in Tihar jail in a corruption case related to the alleged scam. The court on Friday allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to quiz Kavitha in Tihar. The order was passed on the plea filed by the CBI seeking the court's permission to interrogate Kavitha in judicial custody. Advocate Nitesh Rana, appearing for Kavitha, told the court that CBI thwarted the due process of law by filing the plea "behind her back". "I have grave apprehension that CBI may not have divulged true facts in order to obtain a favourable order from the court," he told the court and urged it to keep the order in abeyance until Kavitha's side is heard. The court is likely to hear her plea later in on Saturday. Kavitha was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy s
The Delhi High Court on Friday sought the stand of the Centre on a petition by NGO Environics Trust challenging its order cancelling its registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). Justice Subramonium Prasad issued notice to the central government and asked it to file a reply to the petition within four weeks. "The petitioner has approached this court challenging an order dated March 4, 2024 cancelling the registration under FCRA. Issue Notice. Reply be filed in four weeks," the judge said. Senior counsel, appearing for the petitioner, said the cancellation order was passed by the Centre without hearing the NGO. "They have to give us a personal hearing before they pass the order of cancellation. There was no hearing given to us. For that every ground this order has to go," he said. He also urged the court to permit it to utilise the amount lying in its accounts for payment of salaries to its employees. The Central government counsel said the writ petition w
Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud on Monday said there is a need to have a "delicate balance" between the search and seizure powers vested with investigative agencies like the CBI and an individual's right to privacy. The CJI was delivering his keynote address at the 20th D P Kohli memorial lecture in the memory of the first director of the federal probe agency. In the realm of criminal justice, the delicate balance between search and seizure powers and individual privacy rights stands and this is at the cornerstone of a fair and just society, Justice Chandrachud said. He added that at the heart of this balance lies the need to uphold due process. The CJI also flagged "unwarranted" confiscation of personal devices, saying there was a pressing need to strike a balance between investigative imperatives and individual privacy rights. He also asked the investigative agencies to "pick their battles", saying instead of spreading out too thinly in various cases, they should ..
A court in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district on Sunday remanded Sheikh Alamgir, the brother of Sandeshkhali fiasco key accused Shajahan Sheikh, to five days in CBI custody. The court of additional chief judicial magistrate of Basirhat sub-divisional court also sent Mafijur Molla, another associate of Shajahan, to CBI custody for a similar duration. Sheikh Alamgir and Mafijur Molla were produced before the court after their nine-day CBI custody, which was pronounced on March 22, ended on Sunday. Shajahan, who has been suspended from the ruling Trinamool Congress, and his associates are accused of sexual abuse of women and land-grabbing in Sandeshkhali.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday asked the BJP to apologise to former prime minister Manmohan Singh after the CBI filed a closure report in its Air India-Indian Airlines merger case. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a closure report in its probe into the alleged irregularities in the leasing of aircraft by NACIL, a company formed by the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines during the UPA era, as there was no evidence of any wrongdoing, officials said Thursday. NCP leader Praful Patel, who now belongs to the outfit headed by Ajit Pawar, was the Union civil aviation minister in the earlier Congress-led United Progress Alliance (UPA) government when the leasing was done. Talking to reporters, Raut said the BJP had made a hue and cry over alleged corruption in the civil aviation sector during Manmohan Singh's tenure as PM. The BJP must apologise to Dr Singh, he said. The National Aviation Corporation of India Limited (NACIL) was formed after the mer
This comes after conducting searches at Moitra's residence in Kolkata in connection with the cash-for-query case on Saturday
The CBI on Saturday conducted searches on the premises of former TMC MP Mahua Moitra in multiple locations, including Kolkata, in connection with the alleged cash-for-query case, officials said. Teams of the central probe agency reached Moitra's residence in Kolkata and other cities early on Saturday, informed about the search proceedings and started the operation, they said. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered an FIR against the former Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP on Thursday on the directives of the Lokpal, which has instructed the agency to file a report within six months, they said. Moitra was expelled from the Lok Sabha in December for "unethical conduct". The former MP has challenged her expulsion in the Supreme Court and will again be in the hustings during the upcoming general elections as a TMC candidate from the Krishnanagar seat in West Bengal. The Lokpal, the anti-corruption ombudsman, issued the directions to the CBI after receiving the findings of its