Delhi news live: CM Arvind Kejriwal (PTI)Delhi News Highlights: Speaking on the case of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, CM Kejriwal said that free India hasn’t seen such a scared Prime Minister till now. “Anyone who speaks against them or is doing good works has been arrested and put behind bars. You people don’t fear going to jail, we will fight. There is no harm in going to jail for the betterment of the county. Earlier it 4 months now it has become 7-8 months. No issues, just remember that Bhagat Singh went to jail and the entire world knows him and praises him. One you will also be recognised in the entire world. He fought our freedom but the people here are still fighting for freedom”, he said.
Meanwhile, the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi has reserved its order on a bail plea moved by former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in a CBI case pertaining to alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy.
Congress leaders launched a massive march in the National Capital to protest against Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in a defamation case. They are slated to meet President Droupadi Murmu along with other parties to discuss the Surat court’s verdict.
Chief Minister Kejriwal and Finance Minister Gahlot on the way to present the Delhi Budget on Wednesday. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra)
A team of Delhi Police along with the Punjab police found a bus driver of Roadways bus in Kashmere Gate who informed them that Amritpal Singh boarded his bus and deboarded in Kurukshetra's Pipli. Further investigations are on, according to sources in Delhi Police.
A 22-year-old woman sustained injuries after an Uber cab driver sped away with her belongings while she was getting off the vehicle following an argument over change in destination in North Delhi’s Civil Lines, officers said Friday.
DCP (North) Sagar Singh Kalsi said that the Uber driver, Pawan (32) has been arrested. He said that the incident took place around 4 pm on Wednesday when the victim booked the vehicle through the ride-hailing app from Majnu Ka Tilla to Ashok Vihar. Know more here
Around 11 Delhi University students, protesting against the debarment of two students for attempting to screen the BBC documentary on the Prime Minister in January, were detained Friday from the Arts Faculty. The protest was staged by DU’s AISA unit.
DCP (North) Sagar Singh Kalsi told The Indian Express, “On the request of Delhi University authorities, around 11 students, 9 men and 2 women, have been removed from near the Vivekananda statue, Arts Faculty, to maintain peace in North Campus. Reportedly, they were gathering there to protest in support of some students who were expelled due to indiscipline. No FIR has been registered as of now in this regard.” Read more here
Another group of students, along with Jean Dreze and two other speakers who were discussing about NREGA at the arts faculty, have been removed by the Delhi Police from the place.
"The information was that there’s apprehension of breach of peace and tranquility in the area. The university authorities had also intimated the same. These protestors were peacefully removed from the place. The situation remained normal after that”, said Sagar Singh Khalsi, DCP North.
Meanwhile, Jean Dreze said, "This happened after another set of students had already held their protest and had been detained. We had cooperated with their request not to use a mike. After that there was really no reason to disperse the meeting".
A multi-state mock exercise to assess the preparedness of emergency services in the capital was conducted by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) Friday. Read more here
The Delhi High Court has issued summons in BharatPe cofounder Shashvat Nakrani’s suit against former MD of the fintech firm Ashneer Grover. Nakrani has moved the HC over certain “unpaid shares”.
The Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi government to give Rs 3 lakh as ex gratia reimbursement of medical expenses to a two-year-old boy who became blind allegedly due to medical negligence at the Guru Gobind Singh Hospital. Read more here
The Delhi High Court Friday sought National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) stand in a plea seeking registration of FIR against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for tweeting a photograph of the parents of the nine-year-old Dalit girl who was allegedly raped and killed at a crematorium in Southwest Delhi in August 2021. Read more here
The Delhi High Court Friday allowed BJP MLA Vijender Gupta to attend the Delhi Legislative Assembly from March 27 for the remainder of the ongoing budget session, while hearing his plea challenging the March 21 motion which had suspended him for one year from attending the sittings. Read more here
Independent India is yet to see a prime minister as insecure, corrupt and more uneducated than Narendra Modi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Friday.
Referring to the disqualification of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Kejriwal alleged that the BJP-led Centre was so afraid of dissent that it was ready to put anyone speaking against it behind bars. Read more here
A Delhi court on Friday directed the city police to probe the criminal defamation complaint filed by Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat against Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot over his remarks on the alleged Sanjivani co-operative scam. (PTI)
The Delhi Police have arrested seven fraudsters who allegedly posed as police officials and stole money and valuables from foreign nationals under the pretext of frisking them, officers said. The police have also recovered two sedan cars, some police stickers, and five number plates from their custody.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Thursday recommended 334 candidates out of 363 vacant posts of principals in various Delhi government schools for which a recruitment test was conducted last week and interviews were held between January 30 and March 2.
Twenty-nine positions could not be filled due to the non-availability of suitable candidates in different categories, sources said. Know more here
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal took to social media to say that the expulsion of Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha is 'shocking'.
The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday called Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha a dictatorial move and asserted that the BJP will not be able to suppress the voice of the opposition. (PTI)
Arvind Kejriwal said Friday that Manish Sisodia was a disciple of Bhagat Singh. He said that a 'new trend' has started after Sisodia got arrested.
"MLAs are being threatened. Recently, one MLA came to me and said, a police officer came to my house and said ACB is investigating you, your name is next...another MLA told me a similar story. Are you people afraid of going to jail? Remember Manish Sisodia is a disciple of Bhagat Singh. Manish is not scared of jail and their threats. If any of you are scared of going to Jail, then leave AAP today itself", Kejriwal added.
Speaking on the case of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's conviction, CM Kejriwal said, "Anyone who speaks against them or is doing good works has been arrested and put behind bars. You people don't fear going to jail, we will fight. There is no harm in going to jail for the betterment of the county. Earlier it 4 months now it has become 7-8 months. No issues, just remember that Bhagat Singh went to jail and the entire world knows him and praises him. One you will also be recognised in the entire world. He fought our freedom but the people here are still fighting for freedom".
Kejriwal also added that free India hasn't seen such a scared Prime Minister till now. "I think he is the country's first ever biggest corrupt PM, he is the first ever uneducated PM..." he said.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, while addressing the Assembly, slammed Liuetenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena over allegedly stopping Finland files where the teachers were supposed to visit in March for teacher training.
"DDC was formed to do research on every government policy and it played a key role in all the important policies like Doorstep delivery, faceless, EV policy...but the LG one day directed the SDM and sealed the office of DDC VC Jasmine Shah's office. He is now out of work for the last six months. He is unable to work on important government policies", he said.
"On the request of Delhi University authorities, around 11 students have been removed from near Vivekananda statue, Arts Faculty to maintain peace and and tranquility in DU North Campus. Reportedly, they were gathering there to protest in support of some students who were expelled due to indiscipline”, said Sagar Singh Khalsi, DCP North Delhi.
He added that there was no FIR yet in this regard.
The Delhi High Court has allowed BJP MLA Vijender Gupta to attend the Delhi Legislative Assembly budget session Monday onwards for the remainder of the session, in his plea challenging the motion that suspended him for one year on March 21. Justice Prathiba Singh noted that a perusal of the summary of house proceedings shows that disturbance was caused by both sides. The court however said Gupta will maintain dignity in the house.
The Delhi University’s AISA unit has organised a protest inside the arts faculty against the administration for barring two students for an attempt to screen the BBC documentary on the Gujarat riots. Police was also deployed at the DU art faculty where there has been a tussle between the students protesting and the security guards.
The Union Home ministry tried to delay the presentation of Delhi’s budget in the legislative assembly through the Centre’s representatives – the LG and bureaucrats. Although the delay was temporary, it highlights the ability of complex bureaucratic manoeuvres to halt budgets on behalf of the central government and the precarious system of governance in Delhi that can be held hostage by a few bureaucrats. This incident is a worrying sign for our vibrant democracy. Reena Gupta writes
Asking Opposition MPs to disperse from around Vijay Chowk, police announced that Section 144 has been imposed in the area.
The Delhi Assembly's proceedings were adjourned for 30 minutes around 12.30 pm on Friday amid uproar over the AAP's bribery allegations against a BJP MP. AAP MLA Praveen Kumar alleged that the BJP is scared of the AAP.
"The whole country saw what kind of scam Adani is doing and yet no central agency is chasing him," he said. This led to an uproar in the House that further intensified when Kumar tried to play a purported audio of a BJP MP allegedly asking for a bribe for which Speaker Ram Niwas Goel asked him if he had the clip on a pen drive.
Goel directed Kumar not to take names in the House and instructed him to first present the audio in a pen drive. "If there is corruption by an MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) councillor, it will affect the MCD, which is funded by the city government. The corruption in it can be discussed in Vidhan Sabha without taking names," he said. (PTI)
The protest march to Vijay Chowk, led by the Congress party, has commenced. Opposition leaders were seen carrying a massive banner that read, 'democracy is dead'.
With Congress leaders planning a massive march in the National Capital to protest Rahul Gandhi’s conviction, security has been beefed up around the Vijay Chowk area.
Several parts of Delhi on Friday received light rain, leading to the weather turning pleasant in the national capital and nearby areas.
Laxmi Nagar, ITO, Mandi House, Jor Bagh, Lajpat Nagar and north Delhi experienced light rain. Earlier, the India Meteorological Department forecast thunderstorms with light to moderate rain and winds reaching speeds of 20-40 kilometres per hour in Delhi and adjoining areas, including Kanjhawala, Mundka, Jafarpur, Nazafgarh, Palam, Gurugram, Manesar, Hansi, Meham, Rohtak and Bhiwani.
The maximum temperature is likely to settle at 28 degrees Celsius, the weather office said. The minimum temperature was recorded at 17.6 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal. At 8.30 am, the national capital recorded 75 per cent relative humidity. (PTI)
Delhi Police has registered a case in connection with the protest held outside the Indian High Commission in London on March 19, officials said here on Friday. The case was registered by the special cell under the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act as it involves unlawful activities carried out by certain people holding Indian nationality abroad, a senior police officer told PTI.
Following Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena’s visit to the three landfills in the capital on Thursday, the Raj Niwas has stated that the height of the garbage mounds at Ghazipur, Okhla and Bhalswa has come down by 15 metres each in the last seven months.
Saxena heads the high level solid waste monitoring committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on February 16 and has been personally monitoring the project. Read more
The Delhi High Court on Thursday restrained the Income Tax Department from proceeding further on the show cause notice issued to Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Kapil Sibal in relation to the assessment proceedings pending against him.A bench of Justice Rajiv Shakdher and Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju issued a notice and asked the income tax authorities to file a response on the petition of the former Congress leader. Read more
A BJP delegation met Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena on Thursday and complained to him that the budget details were leaked on social media allegedly by the AAP before the document was tabled in the assembly.
Led by the leader of opposition in the assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, the BJP MLAs also complained to the LG about the suspension of their colleague Vijender Gupta from the assembly for one year after he had raised the issue of budget details being leaked on social media.
"The Delhi government announced the budget date without the approval of the Centre, which was constitutionally unfair. After this, the finance minister leaked the budget, which is a violation of the oath of secrecy. Therefore, immediate action should be taken against the finance minister," said a statement from Bidhuri's office. (PTI)
The Delhi High Court Thursday reserved its verdict in Delhi Police’s plea against trial court’s order discharging Sharjeel Imam, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Safoora Zargar and eight others in the 2019 Jamia violence case.
A single judge bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma reserved its verdict after hearing counsels for all parties.
Appearing for Zargar, senior advocate Rebecca John argued that the person who has been identified as her client had a face cover: “How can these witnesses come to the conclusion it is me? Until my identity isn’t confirmed, my role has to be disconnected.” Read more
Rajesh Joshi, director of a private firm under investigation for allegedly being involved in the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Goa election campaign, which was allegedly funded through kickbacks in the excise policy case, has told a Delhi court he was implicated in this case on a mistaken identity.
Joshi was represented by senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy who argued for his bail in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) money laundering case before Special Judge MK Nagpal at Rouse Avenue district court. The ED will address its arguments on March 31. Read more
In a major reshuffle, Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Thursday transferred 19 IPS and DANIPS officers in the national capital, an official order said.
Sindhu Pillai, a 2001 batch IPS officer, has been appointed as joint commissioner of the Economic Offences Wing, while 2010 batch IPS officer Rajender Singh Sagar has been made the DCP of the First Battalion, the order stated.
Additional DCP northwest Apoorva Gupta, a 2013 batch IPS officer, has become the DCP of Railways. Sachin Sharma, a 2014 batch IPS officer, who was additional DCP east district is now additional DCP central district, while his batchmate Shashank Jaiswal is the new additional DCP east district, it stated.
Similalry, 2014 batch IPS officer Surendra Choudhary, the current additional DCP of the southeast, will take the charge of additional DCP Dwarka, the order said. (PTI)
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday carried out raids in three states as part of its probe into the 'Ghazwa-e-Hind' terror module that was busted in Bihar last year.
The houses of eight suspects located in Nagpur in Maharashtra, Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, and Valsad, Surat and Botad districts in Gujarat were searched and "incriminating" material, including digital devices (mobile phones and memory cards) and documents, seized, the federal agency said in a statement.
The case stems from a July 2022 FIR registered by the Bihar Police at the Phulwari Sharif police station in Patna against members of the 'Ghazwa-e-Hind' module that was being "operated and controlled" from Pakistan. (PTI)
' 100 years ago even the Britishers did not arrest anyone for applying posters. But who knew that a PM will come who will get 136 FIRs registered in one night,' Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said while addressing the AAP public meeting at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.
'What’s going on? Is the PM’s health ok? He is against a printer and six people,' he said.
'Why is he(PM Modi) so insecure that he is putting everyone in jail. Tell PM to sleep because if he is sleeping for 3 hours it’s a problem. He is irritated all the time and wants to put everyone in jail. I hope he remains healthy,' Kejrwal said.
The Delhi HC reserves judgment in Delhi Police’s plea challenging trial court’s order which discharged several persons including Sharjeel Imam, Safoora Zargar and nine others in 2019 Jamia violence case.
The ASG points to certain video clips stating that 7 accused person have been identified.
“Pls see the clip whether it is possible to pre judge the issue that in the clip the mental physical state in which the men and women are there whether it can be passed off as bystanders will have to be analysed. Appreciation by the TC that these persons are innocent bystanders is completely belied”. Court says it will examine the video clips.
Senior advocate Rebecca John appearing for Safoora Zargar gave a three-fold argument. She refers to main chargesheet and supplementary chargesheets 1 and 2 to say that she was named only in the second supplementary chargesheet for first time as an accused which was filed in 2021. She further argues that Delhi police’s reliance on CDR records to say that she lived in Jamia and was also studying as an MPhil student therefore her presence near the area of violence is irrelevant.
She further argued that her client was not among the 42 people who were picked by Delhi police and sent Badarpur police station during the violence. She also argued that Delhi police had shown photos of the protestors to two persons who were not even present at the site who identified a woman who was “muffled” as Zargar is not tenable.
She finally argued that witnesses of statements who allegedly identified Safoora Zargar but had later been arrayed as excused is against the principles of criminal law.
Delhi HC is hearing Delhi police’s plea against trial court’s order which discharged Sharjeel Imam, Asif Iqbal Tanha and and nine others in a 2019 Jamia violence case.
Appearing for the Delhi police, Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain reads through the police’s submissions:
(i) That at the stage of framing of charges, the Trial Court cannot indulge in conducting a mini-trial by determining the credibility of the evidence as to whether it would warrant a conviction or not;
(ii) Credibility of evidence and witness statement cannot be gone into at the stage of charge;
(iii) Conviction can take place purely on testimony of police witness and as such the trial court is in error in holding that there is no evidence which can convict the respondents;
(iv) Non consideration/selective consideration of third chargsheet for the reasons stated in the impugned order is fatal and makes the order perverse;
(v) Disregard to the chargesheet in toto and selective reliance placed on it to arrive at a finding of discharge is impermissible in law. It is submitted that the Trial Court at two places has observed that the third charge sheet filed by the investigating agency is an afterthought and is filed to cure the defects in the previous filed charge sheets hence cannot be considered. Notwithstanding that Learned Court while discharging the Respondent Accused have conveniently relied upon the selective passages of the third charge sheet. This in the respectful submission of the petitioner/state infest the impugned order with perversity making it unsustainable in eyes of law;
(vi) The Ld. Trial Court has failed to comprehend the correct import of the judgment rendered by the Hon'ble Apex Court in Masalti v. State of Uttar Pradesh. It is submitted that Ld Trial Court has erroneously weighed and minutely appreciated the evidence on record at 227 CrPC stage [which it is not permissible to do] and erred in holding [at the charge stage] that the rigours of Section 149 I.P.C would not be attracted and allegations did not satisfy the test as laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Masalti v. State of Uttar Pradesh and other several judgments.
(vii) The Trial has overstepped its jurisdiction in passing disparaging and gravely prejudicial observations against the investigation and investigative agencies. and therefore ought to be expunged from the record.
Sanjay Singh while addressing the public meeting today said ,"Since Modi government is in power everything has become expensive. Gas cylinder, medicines, vegetables. If inflation has to be removed then Modi needs to be removed."
He also touched upon other issues in the country. "Joblessness is on the rise and the Agniveer scheme is a slap on the face of millions. We fought alongside farmers against the farm laws and today farmers continue to commit suicide. Modi promised farmers double the price for the harvest but he did not fulfill his promise," he said.
He promised that he will bring back black money and will deposit 15 lakh rupees in bank accounts but that didn’t happen either after families were forced to stand in queues during demonetisation, Sanjay Singh added.
"They have put a leader like Manish Sisodia behind bars who has done so much for the education sector in Delhi. Modi didn’t like what Sisodia was doing by giving education to the poorest of the poor. Manish Sisodia has gone a great job by giving education to lakhs of people and the Kejriwal government will continue doing that. We are not scared of you," Singh said.
'Modi Hatao Desh Bachao' posters being put up as Delhi CM Kejriwal set to convene meeting at Jantar Mantar today. Atishi, Sandeep Pathak and Sanjay Singh have also reached the venue ahead of the meeting.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal shall hold a public meeting at 3pm today. Almost 5000 AAP workers and MLAs from Punjab and AAP workers from Delhi have gathered at Jantar Mantar for this public meeting. Saurabh Bhardwaj and Durgesh Pathak have also reached at the venue. Around 100-150 officials of Punjab have also reached the venue as a part of the security of the MLAs.
The Delhi HC has directed Income Tax authorities to “hold their hands” from acting on a Show Cause notice issued to senior advocate Kapil Sibal on March 11, 2023, in relation to assessment proceedings for certain years.
The high court said the concerned officer will first dispose of objections raised by Sibal. "In this context, the concerned officer will issue a notice to the petitioner which would indicate the date, venue and time of the hearing," a division bench of Justice Rajiv Shakdher and Tara Vitasta Ganju said.
The concerned officer will pass a speaking order qua the objections preferred by the petitioner and a copy of the same will be furnished to the petitioner, a division bench of said while passing the order.
In the meantime, the HC stayed the notice observing that matter requires some consideration, as it raises questions to the jurisdiction of the authorities and violation of natural justice principles.
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) has figured in the list of top 50 institutions in the world under the subjects of engineering and technology. The institute has been ranked 48th globally with a score of 80.1, according to the 13th edition of the QS World University Ranking by Subject 2023, which was released on Wednesday.
Last year, the institute was ranked 72nd. Read more
Hopes of becoming a professor, a civil servant and a politician hang in the balance after eight students were identified and punished by Delhi University for attempting to screen the BBC documentary on the Gujarat riots.
The screening was organised on January 27 by students’ groups such as the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) and the Bhim Army Student Federation (BASF). Some of the students were detained by the Delhi Police from the spot, and their details were collected by the university from the FIR. Read more
BJP MLA Vijender Gupta has moved the Delhi High Court against the decision of Delhi Legislative Assembly suspending him for one year from the Assembly. The matter was mentioned today before a bench led by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma for urgent listing tomorrow. The HC has directed that the matter be listed on Friday.
In his plea, Gupta states that on March 20, finance minister Kailash Gahlot came out with a statememt claiming that the Home Ministry deliberately delayed the budget by not giving its approval. The said statement was tweeted by other ministers of the state government. This act of breach of privilege was noted by Gupta late evening, the plea states. It further states that before the Session of the Assembly began on March 21 (before 11:00 AM) Gupta submitted a notice calling for breach of privilege of motion against Mr Gahlot. However, he was not allowed to make detailed statement the plea states.
The plea adds that after Gupta was marshalled out by the Speaker, the Speaker thereafter called Gupta back allowing him to make his statement, but after 10 seconds his mic was switched off. He then went to the well of the House to show the provision of the Assembly Rules to the Speaker. Thereafter, Aam Aadmi Party MLA Sanjeev Jha proposed Gupta’s suspension from the House for a period of one year. The Speaker put the motion to vote by adopting the voice vote and ordered Gupta’s suspension without any justification.
The plea states that this act of suspension is unjust, unfair, and unreasonable.
BJP national president JP Nadda Thursday cleared the appointment of Virendra Sachdeva, so far working president, as president of the Delhi BJP.
A day after the Delhi Police arrested four over anti-Modi posters in the capital, CM Arvind Kejriwal, noting the new posters targeting him (Kejriwal) across Delhi, said, "I have no objection to this. In a democracy, the public has every right to express their views in favor of or against their leader."
"Those who put up posters against me should not be arrested," he tweeted.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Wednesday (March 22) accused the Modi government of being dictatorial after the Delhi Police registered 44 First Information Reports (FIRs) and arrested four people after posters which said “Modi hatao, desh bachao” were found pasted on walls and poles across the national capital.
“The Modi government’s dictatorship is at its peak. What is so objectionable about this poster that Modi ji filed 100 FIRs for putting it up? PM Modi, it seems you do not know that India is a democratic country. Why are you so scared of one poster?” the AAP said in a tweet posted in Hindi. Read more
The Aam Aadmi Party-led government in Delhi may have presented its first budget without former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also held the finance portfolio, but his shadow loomed large.
Before the budget was presented by new Finance Minister Kailash Gahlot, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted: “Delhi’s budget will be presented today. Everyone is missing Manish ji a lot today. But will not let his work stop. The work started by him will be done at double the speed.” Read more
A day after the Delhi Police registered 44 FIRs over anti-PM Modi posters in the capital, posters saying “Kejriwal hatao, Delhi bachao (Remove Kejriwal, save Delhi)” were seen on walls across Delhi on Thursday. The Delhi Police had arrested four persons, including two printing press owners after posters seeking the ouster of PM Narendra Modi (‘Modi hatao, desh bachao’), were found pasted on walls and poles in several areas of Delhi.