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Opinion 40 years ago, January 31, 1986: Indira Gandhi murder case

The Delhi High Court rejected the plea of Kehar Singh and Balbir Singh, convicts in the Indira Gandhi murder case, to quash the death sentence. 

Indira Gandhi murder case, Indira Gandhi assassination, 40 Years Ago, Akali Dal shelved plan, Fertiliser prices go up, editorial, Indian express, opinion news, current affairsThe ruling Akali Dal shelved its plan to drive the militants out of the Golden Temple complex using physical force following a directive from the Centre.
2 min readJan 31, 2026 07:06 AM IST First published on: Jan 31, 2026 at 07:00 AM IST

The Delhi High Court rejected the plea of Kehar Singh and Balbir Singh, convicts in the Indira Gandhi murder case, to quash the death sentence.  Justice R N Aggarwal and Justice Malik Sharif-ud-Din agreed in their order in the writ petition that the additional district judge did not conform to the rules of the CrPC while sentencing the convicts to death, but the High Court did not give a ruling on the basis of these omissions.

Akali Dal shelved plan

The ruling Akali Dal shelved its plan to drive the militants out of the Golden Temple complex using physical force following a directive from the Centre. The directive came after the first attempt to “liberate” the complex from the followers of the Damdami Taksal and the All-India Sikh Students’ Federation on January 19 ended in a fiasco.

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Homage to Mahatma

The Martyrs’ Day, coinciding with the 39th death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, was observed. The President, Zail Singh, the Vice President, R Venkataraman, and the Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, visited Rajghat early in the morning to offer floral tributes at the Mahatma’s samadhi.

Fertiliser prices go up

The Government announced an increase of up to 10 per cent in fertiliser prices with immediate effect. The measure will help to reduce subsidy levels for fertilisers, which are likely to touch Rs 2,000 crore in the current financial year. The exact reduction in subsidy was not officially given. The prices of the principal fertilisers, urea and diammonium phosphate, will go up from Rs 2,150 and Rs 3,350 per metric tonne to Rs 2,350 and Rs 3,600 per metric tonne respectively.

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