The CBI has filed a closure report in a corruption case against former Union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan over the diversion of forest land for a steel plant in Jharkhand in violation of laws in 2012, officials said. After six years of probe, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed the closure report before a special court last week as it could not find enough evidence in the case to proceed with prosecution, the officials said. The federal probe agency had registered the case against Natarajan, the then managing director of Electrosteel Casting Limited (ECL) Umang Kejriwal and the company on September 7, 2017, after a three-year-long exhaustive preliminary enquiry it had registered in 2014 on the Supreme Court's directions. The CBI had registered the FIR based on enquiry findings, which allegedly showed that ECL had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Jharkhand government for setting up a steel plant in Jharkhand in 2004. In 2006, the state ...
Promise of pre-election freebies by political parties is a corrupt practice and "bribe" under the Representation of the People Act which is a ground for declaring an election to be void, the Supreme Court was told on Wednesday. A three-judge bench was deliberating on pleas including the one filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay opposing promises of such handouts by the parties during polls. The petitions have sought direction to the Election Commission to invoke its powers to freeze the election symbols of these parties and cancel their registration. Senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, appearing for the petitioner, told the bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud that the 2013 judgement delivered by a two-judge bench of the apex court in the matter of S Subramaniam Balaji vs The Government of Tamil Nadu and others required reconsideration. In its 2013 judgement, the apex court had noted that after examining and considering the parameters laid in section 123 of the Representatio
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the Congress is a symbol of corruption, nepotism and appeasement -- three evils preventing India from becoming a developed nation. Addressing a public meeting in poll-bound Rajasthan's Baran district, the prime minister said Congress leaders are unruly and the people of the state are suffering as the ruling party has handed them over to robbers, rioters and criminals. "As long as three enemies of the country -- corruption, nepotism and appeasement -- are among us, it will be difficult to fulfil the resolution to make India a developed nation. The Congress is the biggest symbol of these three evils," Modi told the gathering. "Be it Congress MLAs or ministers, everyone is unruly and the public is suffering. The Congress has handed over the people of Rajasthan to robbers, rioters, tyrants and criminals," he said. "Today, even children in Rajasthan are saying 'Gehlot ji, you won't get votes'," he added. The prime minister also targeted the
The Bihar government has directed district authorities to construct permanent checkposts at sensitive locations to curb illegal sand mining in the state, an official said on Monday. The process for setting up such a surveillance infrastructure has already been initiated in Bhojpur, Jamui, Nawada, Rohtas, Aurangabad and Kaimur districts. The move comes after attacks on police personnel and officials of the Mines and Geology Department by the sand mafia were reported from several districts. "Instructions to construct checkposts were issued to district authorities in a recent meeting chaired by the director of the Mines and Geology Department of the state government," the official said. According to the minutes of the meeting, a copy of which is with PTI, four permanent checkposts will be built in Patna. "Officials have been directed to identify locations and construct checkposts in Banka, Saran, Kaimur, Gaya and Patna districts at the earliest. There are around 267 sand ghats in the
As his government completed six months in office on Monday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said his administration has taken decisive steps to reduce corruption and initiated thorough investigations in various cases. He said his government is committed to building a state that not only meets the immediate needs of its people, but also lays the foundation for a prosperous future. In the elections to the 224-member Assembly held in May this year, the Congress ousted the BJP from power with a landslide victory. The Congress got 135 seats to BJP's 66. "As the Chief Minister of Karnataka, it brings me immense pride to mark the completion of six months of our government's tenure. In this short span, we have been steadfast in our commitment to empower the people of Karnataka and craft a sustainable and progressive future for our state," Siddaramaiah said in a statement. "Our governance model, the New Karnataka Model, is a testament to this commitment. It is a model that intertwines
The man accused of attacking former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband with a hammer last year told jurors at his federal trial Tuesday how he went to the Pelosis' San Francisco home as part of a bigger plan to end corruption in the United States. David DePape spoke for more than an hour, often getting emotional and crying about how his political leanings went from leftist to right-wing after reading a comment on a YouTube video about former President Donald Trump. He said he went to the Pelosis' home to talk to Pelosi about Russian involvement in the 2016 election, and that he planned to wear an inflatable unicorn costume and upload his interrogation of her online. Prosecutors say DePape bludgeoned Paul Pelosi in the early hours of October 28, 2022, just days before the midterm elections, and that he had rope and zip ties with him. DePape has pleaded not guilty to attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official with
The Prime Minister launched an all-out attack on Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, accusing him of rampant corruption
Accusing the AAP government in Delhi of corrupt practices that benefited the liquor mafia, Uttar Pradesh Excise Minister Nitin Agarwal on Sunday said the excise police under the Yogi Adityanath government was transparent. Unlike Delhi, Agarwal said, one person cannot get more than two liquor shops in UP. There have been no deaths due to consumption of spurious liquor in the current term of the Adityanath-led government, Agarwal told PTI in an interview. Targeting the AAP, the UP minister said, "Excise has been a much-discussed matter, with irregularities worth crores. To whom has the money gone? Who has benefited from it? The AAP should answer this. Delhi government's now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22 came under the scanner after the Delhi lieutenant governor recommended a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in its implementation. Why is it worried? Now that central agencies are investigating, they are getting nervous and are blaming the BJP. This makes it clear that the .
The 39-year-old CEO Chen Shaojie made his last public appearance in August when he spoke on the company's quarterly earnings conference call with financial analysts, the report said.
Catch all the latest updates LIVE from across the globe here
Mohammed Azharuddin has approached the Malkajgiri Court seeking bail in all four cases registered against him
Addressing a public rally in the poll-bound state on Sunday, Nadda alleged that chief ministers of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and Congress leader Kamal Nath collect money for the Congress family
Launching barbs at the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in the state, Shah said, "Whenever Congress ruled, it only worked to fill its houses. Whereas the BJP worked for development"
Dismissing the corruption allegation of Rupees one trillion (One lakh crore), KTR said that how can a Rs 80,000 crore project cause Rs one lakh crore of corruption?
He also attacked the BJP and said that the central government knew about the corruption in the project but the BJP was protecting BRS
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said Rahul Gandhi and Bhupesh Baghel suffered from short-term memory loss as they have forgotten the promises they made to the people
The Congress party has left no stone unturned in informing people of Telangana about how the BRS government allegedly misappropriated a staggering amount of Rs 1 trillion from the Kalleshwaram project
Anurag Thakur said, "Ever since they came to power, one leader after another has been found involved in corruption. Aam Aadmi Party has done widespread corruption from Delhi to Punjab
Congress on Tuesday demanded strict action against BJP leaders who are involved in corruption
The former cricket star was disqualified from running for public office for five years after he was convicted in a corruption case in August