Quicktakes

SC upholds lottery ban
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the power given to states to ban lotteries settling the heated debate over ban on lotteries. The division bench comprising Justices K Venkataswamy and A P Misra in a 134-page judgement said state lotteries cannot be construed to be a trade and business.8217;

Judge gets jail
Guwahati: A Munsiff Judge posted at Mangaldoi in Assam has been sentenced to one month8217;s imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2,000 for contempt of court. Liaqat Ali has been sentenced by Guwahati HC for his failure to ensure timely release of one Kamala Keot from civil imprisonment despite a clear HC order. Delivering the order, Justice J N Sarma held that it was because of Ali, Keot had to remain in jail even after the HC had ordered his release.

Heat wave
NEW DELHI: Mercury dipped in parts of the country today easing torrid heat wave conditions as eight more people succumbed to the blazing sun raising the toll from the scorcherthis season to 119. Six people died since last evening in Kannauj , UP. The other two deaths were reported from the worst-hit Orissa. The current heat spell has claimed 56 lives in Orissa, 22 in Andhra Pradesh, 25 in Uttar Pradesh, 11 in Bihar and five in Gujarat.