Chennai News Highlights: Madras HC to hear Palaniswami’s plea against status quo order in AIADMK leadership today

Chennai and its neighboring areas witnessed a sudden spell of intense rainfall for a few hours Thursday. Water-logging caused traffic jams in some areas and netizens took to social media to share pictures and videos of rainfall in the city. (Read More)

Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Thursday claimed missionaries during the British rule in India presented a de-spiritualised English version of the Tamil classic 'Tirukkural,' authored by savant Thiruvalluvar, and described the great work as an epic holding wisdom of eternal spirituality.

Tirukkural is not just a code of ethics and morality but also an epic holding the wisdom of eternal spirituality, he said after unveiling a statue of Thiruvalluvar at DTEA Senior Secondary School, Lodhi Estate, in the national capital.

Also, known as kural, the Tirukkural consists of 1,330 couplets.

Hailing Thiruvalluvar who gave the world Tirukkural, the ‘Fountain of Wisdom,' the Governor highlighted the richness and beauty of Tamil language, the most ancient language. (PTI)

A village administrative officer (VAO) and revenue inspector (RI) were arrested on Thursday in separate cases for allegedly demanding and receiving bribe, said the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) said.

The VAO of Kothattai in Cuddalore district demanded and received the bribe of Rs 10,000 from the complainant, who had applied for name transfer in the patta document of his land.

In Tiruvallur district, the revenue inspector sought and took Rs 2,000 as bribe from the complainant for processing his application seeking death certificate of his grandfather. In the DVAC parlance, such arrests are often described as 'trap proceedings.' During the proceedings, the accused government servants are arrested when they receive the bribe from complainants. (PTI)

Chennai Police register a case against AIADMK Coordinator O Panneerselvam, Vaidhyalingam, Manoj Pandian for various offenses including that related to the theft case: Chennai Police

— ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2022

The Madras High Court was informed on Thursday that all the cases pertaining to the attack and ransacking of the AIADMK headquarters here on July 11 have been transferred to the state's premier investigation wing, the Crime Branch CID for further probe.

The government advocate made a submission to this effect before Justice N Sathish Kumar when the writ petition from AIADMK leader and party MP C Ve Shanmugham came up for further hearing today.

The petition prayed for a direction to the Home Secretary, DGP and the City Police Commissioner to transfer the investigation on the four complaints relating to the violent incidents that happened on July I1, pending before the Royapettah police station here, to the CBI or any other special investigation team.

According to petitioner, also a former State minister and the Villupuram district secretary of the party, AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam, along with 2OO hooligans carrying deadly weapons trespassed into the party headquarters on July 11 and ransacked the office and attacked the persons manning it and other party cadres. (PTI)

Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin today participated in the Tirupur Regional Conference on 'Thol Duvavom Industries' organised by the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Department and inaugurated the Tamil Nadu Rope Business Development Institute set up in Coimbatore. He also provided a grant assistance to the entrepreneurs involved in the rope manufacturing industry at the Conference.

MoUs with FaMe-TN, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and World Resource Institute (WRI) were also signed in the CM’s presence. He also inaugurated the Tamil Nadu Loan Guarantee Scheme and handed over loan amount checks to 5 beneficiaries belonging to Tirupur Zone. A public facility centre was also established for micro-entrepreneurs producing knitwear at a project estimate of Rs 15.34 crore in Naranapuram, Tirupur district and inaugurated new project works worth Rs.64.68 crore.

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— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) August 25, 2022

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— CMOTamilNadu (@CMOTamilnadu) August 25, 2022

Actor Khushbu Sundar's tweet against the release of men involved in rape has set off a series of reactions and debate and her party the BJP on Thursday maintained that the release of 11 convicts by Gujarat in the Bilkis Bano case was as per law and there was absolutely no politics involved.

A leading women's outfit said it was time for persons like Khushbu to introspect, adding secular, democratic forces are the right destination to fight for women's honour and rights.

National president of BJP's women's wing Vanathi Srinivasan said that through her tweet, Sundar has conveyed that injustice must not befall on women and there is absolutely no second opinion about that.

In this specific matter of release of 11 convicts by Gujarat, the due process of law was followed and the state government took a decision following the recommendations of a committee that made a complete scrutiny of each and every case, she said.

This process was following a Supreme Court directive on a petition filed by a convict. "The (Gujarat) government followed due process of law. They were not released for political reasons," Srinivasan told PTI. (PTI)

A 29-year-old Railway Protection Force (RPF) woman constable was allegedly stabbed on a suburban train in Chennai by a man, who was said to be in an inebriated condition, when she asked him to get down from a ladies coach Tuesday night. The constable was rushed to a railway hospital for treatment and is said to be stable now.

Tamil Nadu BJP leader Khusbhu Sundar on Wednesday called the remission of life sentence to the 11 convicts in the 2002 Bilkis Bano rape case “an insult to humankind”, adding that any victim of rape or assault need support beyond “politics and ideologies”.

A woman who is raped, assaulted, brutalised and her soul scarred for life must get justice. No man who has been involved in it should go free. If he does so, it's an insult to humankind and womanhood. #BilkisBano or any woman, needs support, beyond politics n ideologies. Period.

— KhushbuSundar (@khushsundar) August 24, 2022

The Tamil Nadu Idol Wing CID on Wednesday said it has initiated steps to retrieve six Chola-era bronze idols, stolen from the Nareeswara Sivan temple, Veeracholapuram in Kallakurichi district back in the 1960s, and currently kept at various museums in the United States.

The Madras High Court has directed the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) to obtain an undertaking from builders that possession of the building will be handed over to the buyers only after receiving the completion certificate from the authorities concerned.

Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy on Wednesday announced that action would be taken against newspapers or publications from the Union Territory which have no registration with RNI (Registrar of Newspapers for India).

During Question Hour in the territorial Assembly, the Chief Minister said action against publishers or owners of such newspapers and publications would also be taken.

Rangasamy was replying to a question P M L Kalyanasundaram (BJP) raised in the Assembly. The latter alleged that some newspapers published from Puducherry had no registration with RNI. He further alleged that instances of owners or publishers of such newspapers extracting money under threat from officials and politicians have surfaced. Kalyanasundaram wanted the government to take action against such newspapers. (PTI)

The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday finalised the 14th wage revision agreement for the State Transport Corporation employees at the conclusion of 7th round of negotiations with representatives of 66 trade unions here. The term for the new accord would be for four years till August 31, 2023, and come into retrospective effect from September 1, 2019, as the 13th wage revision expired in August-end 2019.

Citing the arrest of 10 Indian fishermen by Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday urged the Centre to take steps for their release and freeing all the 94 boats in the neighbouring country’s custody.

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— CMOTamilNadu (@CMOTamilnadu) August 24, 2022

The Tamil Nadu BJP on Wednesday slammed the state education department by asking whether mobilising people for Chief Minister M K Stalin's events was its primary function. On his twitter handle, the saffron party's state unit chief K Annamalai claimed that he learnt that the Chief Educational Officer (Coimbatore) has sent a circular to all schools to provide 'school vehicles'.

Citing the 'circular', he said this is to bring people to government events presided by Stalin in Coimbatore on Wednesday and a scheduled government function on August 26 in Erode district. The CM is on an official visit to Coimbatore and nearby regions from August 24 to 26.

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— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) August 24, 2022

A division bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday will hear a petition filed by AIADMK joint coordinator and former Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K Palaniswami challenging the orders of a single judge, which nullified the party’s general council meeting held on July 11 this year and ordered maintenance of status-quo as of June 23, 2022 in the AIADMK leadership.

Tamil Nadu reported 547 new Covid-19 infections, pushing the tally to 35,65,020, the state health department said on Wednesday. There were no fresh fatalities and the death toll remained unchanged at 38,033, a medical bulletin said. As many as 649 people got recovered in the last 24 hours, aggregating to 35,21,357 leaving 5,630 active infections. Chennai reported 82 fresh infections. 

The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) has announced that power will be suspended in parts of Chennai today in Egmore, Tambaram carrying out maintenance work in the city. Parts of Chennai will face a power shutdown from 9 am to 2 pm, with supply expected to resume before 2 pm if the work is completed. 

Vanakkam Chennai! Welcome to today’s live blog. We bring to you the latest news on Covid-19, politics, features, entertainment, sports, weather, art and culture from across Chennai and Tamil Nadu. Follow our live blog and @ie_chennai to stay up to date with what’s happening in the state.

Justice Krishnan Ramawamy of the Madras High Court on Wednesday pulled up the lawyers representing AIADMK functionaries, for seeking transfer of cases to other judges and so on.

"Do you think the Chief Justice does not have any other work (to do)," Justice Krishnan Ramaswamy retorted when advocate J Antony Jesus, representing Tiruchendur based lawyer B Ramamurthy and K C Suren Palanisamy, in some cases, told the judge that they had approached the Registrar (Judicial) on Tuesday to constitute a special bench to hear all cases related to the party.

It was Justice Ramaswamy, who on August 4 had taken strong exception to the action of the AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam and his advocates for approaching the Chief Justice the previous day to transfer their case pertaining to the July 11 general council meeting, pending before him, to some other judge.(PTI)

Olympia Group India Managing Director Ajit Kumar Chordia was elected as the Chairman of Confederation of Indian Industry, Indian Green Building Council, Chennai chapter, the industry body said on Wednesday.

An executive board member of IGBC, Chordia conceptualised the Olympia Technology Park in the city which is one of the first business parks in the country that received the platinum certification from IGBC.

Chordia played a key role in facilitating the ties between Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) and IGBC Chennai, a press release from CII said.(PTI)

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday said various states across the country are trying to emulate the development schemes of the DMK government, but some political parties in the state were criticising the regime by claiming that it has failed to implement the party's election promises.

Addressing a mammoth gathering at a function where over one lakh beneficiaries received welfare measures, Stalin said he was proud to hear President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar appreciating the schemes being implemented in Tamil Nadu and the state's overall progress, when the former met them recently in Delhi.

Indirectly referring to the main opposition AIADMK, he said some parties in Tamil Nadu always attempt to criticise the schemes that are being accepted and appreciated by the people of the state, Stalin said.(PTI)

Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy on Wednesday announced that action would be taken against newspapers or publications from the Union Territory which have no registration with RNI (Registrar of Newspapers for India).

During Question Hour in the territorial Assembly, the Chief Minister said action against publishers or owners of such newspapers and publications would also be taken.

Rangasamy was replying to a question P M L Kalyanasundaram (BJP) raised in the Assembly. The latter alleged that some newspapers published from Puducherry had no registration with RNI. He further alleged that instances of owners or publishers of such newspapers extracting money under threat from officials and politicians have surfaced. Kalyanasundaram wanted the government to take action against such newspapers.(PTI)

The Tamil Nadu BJP on Wednesday slammed the state education department by asking whether mobilising people for Chief Minister M K Stalin's events was its primary function.

On his twitter handle, the saffron party's state unit chief K Annamalai claimed that he learnt that the Chief Educational Officer (Coimbatore) has sent a circular to all schools to provide 'school vehicles'.

Citing the 'circular', he said this is to bring people to government events presided by Stalin in Coimbatore on Wednesday and a scheduled government function on August 26 in Erode district. (PTI)

Siddha researchers who tumbled upon a rare collection of 350-year-old palm leaf manuscripts on Siddha herbs have brought out its printed version - Agathiyar Gunavagadam - to be used as text and reference by the Siddha students.

The palm leaf manuscripts were in the possession of a family of Siddha physician in Tamil Nadu's Vellore for several years. After it was learnt about the manuscripts, the family was requested to offer them for the cause of humanity.

“We had to initially verify the text on the palm leaf manuscripts which were in the form of verse. After consulting Tamil scholars and experts its genuineness was ascertained and we decided to bring them to limelight,” says Prof Dr R Meenakumari, director of the National Institute of Siddha (NIS), Tambaram Sanatorium, here, who has worked tirelessly to bring out this book through NIS.(PTI)

A sequel to the 1996 blockbuster Indian, Indian 2 is back on floors. The film’s director Shankar announced on Wednesday that the team of the film is resuming its shoot from today. He tweeted, “Good morning Indians, we are glad to announce that the remaining shoot for Indian 2 is commencing today! Need all of your support and wishes ??.” The makers also released a new poster of the movie featuring Kamal Haasan with the words, “He is back” written on it. Read the full story here

Running a shop in most happening places is difficult, running a shop in one of the most happening places in Chennai for over 50 years is more difficult, running a salon without compromising on one’s principles while competing with modern salons and spas is an even tougher, herculean task. Kerala Hair Dressers does just that on an everyday basis.

The Tamil Nadu government signed five memoranda of understanding (MoUs) for an investment worth Rs 2,250 crore in the footwear and leather sector, on Tuesday in the presence of Chief Minister M K Stalin who unveiled the ‘Tamil Nadu Footwear and Leather Products Policy 2022’. The policy is aimed at attracting Rs 20,000 crore investment in the leather sector by 2025 and in creating employment opportunities to 2 lakh people. Read more

The Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police (DGP) , City Commissioner of Police and other authorities to completely eradicate ‘orderly’ system in the state in four months.

A community borewell pump was covered with concrete during a civic work near Rasipuram in Tamil Nadu’s Namakkal district recently. The authorities said they have removed the contractor and were taking steps to ensure that such incidents do not recur.

Food safety department officials Tuesday raided a wholesale store near Saidapet in Chennai and seized around 4,400 litre of adulterated oil. The officials noted that the shop owners had been illegally storing the oil underground and selling it to the customers. “The oil that we seized today was contaminated with mud and dust; it was totally unhygienic. We should never consume such oil.

"The shop does not have a licence to store such a huge quantity of oil. Though it looks like a small shop from outside, they have a space underground where they had stored this oil in a sump. Everyday several barrels of oil were brought here in trucks and deposited in the sump. They have a huge tank on the top floor. They used to pump the oil from the sump using a motor. It is a crime to sell oil without any package, label, ISI mark, the address of the company, or the manufacturing date, etc. I urge the retailers not to sell oil on loose. We will initiate action against such shops,” Dr Satheesh Kumar, designated food safety officer in Chennai, told the reporters.

The Supreme Court has taken serious exception to a Tamil Nadu minister’s remarks on the freebies issue, with Chief Justice of India N V Ramana on Tuesday warning state counsel P Wilson, not to be under the impression that the comments had been ignored by the court.

A division bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday adjourned till August 25, the hearing on the appeals from AIADMK joint coordinator K. Palaniswami challenging the orders of a single judge, which nullified the party’s general council meeting held on July 11 this year and ordered maintenance of status-quo ante as of June 23, 2022.

Popular Tamil director N Lingusamy has been sentenced to six months’ imprisonment by a metropolitan magistrate’s court in Saidapet on Monday over a cheque fraud case. The case was filed by a financial firm PVP Capital Limited after a cheque of Rs 1.03 crore given to them by the director bounced. The company filed a case against Lingusamy and his brother Subash Chandra Bose, who run the production company Thirrupathi Brothers. Read more

Tamil Nadu continued to maintain a downward graph in coronavirus cases and on Tuesday, the State saw 560 fresh infections against 591, a day ago. The overall tally mounted to 35,64,473. A lone passenger who returned by road from Bihar was among 560 people who tested positive, a bulletin from the State health department said.

The active cases declined to 5,732 from 5,842 on Monday. There were no casualties today also and the toll remained at 38,033. A total of 35,20,708 people, including 670 who were discharged today, recovered from the contagion following treatment. (PTI)

The Perundurai police arrested two Bangladesh nationals for staying here without visa. Based on information, the police raided a premises at Panikkampalayam on Monday, where they found two persons identified as Samsusjoman Sardar (39) and Allaudin Gazi (33) staying without proper permit.

The two when inquired admitted that they are working in a private firm for the past one-year without any visa. The police arrested them and registered a case under section 3 (2) (c) read with 14 of the Foreigners Act and 3 (3) Passport (entry to India) Act. The Bangladesh nationals passports were seized by the police. They were later taken to Puzal prison in Chennai and were remanded there, police said. (PTI)

A Youtuber was restrained by the Madras High Court on Tuesday from making defamatory statements against Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji. Justice Krishnan Ramaswamy granted the injunction while passing interim orders on an application arising out of a civil suit from Balaji, against the Youtuber A Sankar, known as 'Savukku' Sankar.

The suit from Balaji prayed for a direction to Sankar to pay Rs 2 crore towards damages, besides restraining him permanently from making any such defamatory statements against him and to remove the ones already posted in the websites. After granting the interim direction, the judge ordered notice to Sankar, returnable by September 9. (PTI)

The Tamil Nadu government has issued a glossary, as suggested by the Madras High Court, as to how the persons belonging to the third gender should be addressed/described. The Additional Advocate-General told Justice N Ananth Venkatesh on Tuesday that the glossary was published in the Tamil Nadu government gazette of the Social Welfare and Women Empowerment department on August 20 this year.

He also furnished a copy of the same to the judge and submitted that by virtue of the publication of the glossary in the official gazette, the terms mentioned in it would have a statutory backing and whenever the LGBTQIA+ community is to be addressed by any forum, it is mandatory to describe them only by using the terms that have been mentioned in the gazette.

Vanakkam Chennai! Welcome to today’s live blog. We bring to you the latest news on Covid-19, politics, features, entertainment, sports, weather, art and culture from across Chennai and Tamil Nadu. Follow our live blog and @ie_chennai to stay up to date with what’s happening in the state.