Delhi Confidential: In Demand

Former Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph has been a favourite with the top court’s benches to mediate and resolve matrimonial disputes. The trend continued in February, too, with the soft-spoken Justice Joseph getting appointed as mediator in three cases in the first half of the month itself. Entrusting him with the task last week in a case where a woman journalist was given divorce by her lawyer husband through talaq-e-hasan, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant praised his mediation skills.

Party Parity

Two former BSP leaders who were ministers during the Mayawati regime in UP, Naseemuddin Siddqui and Anis Ahmed Khan alias Phool Babu, joined the Samajwadi Party in Lucknow on Sunday in the presence of SP chief AkhileshYadav. Addressing their supporters at the event, both the leaders had a similar slip of the tongue linked to their shared past — mentioning BSP instead of SP. While Phool Babu said “Bahujan Samaj Party hi PDA hai…”; Naseemuddin said “aaj jo log Bahujan Samaj Party mein shamil hue….” before correcting himself. Later, Akhilesh gave a positive twist to the issue, saying it was proof that Bahujan Samaj and Samajwadi Party are coming closer.