Talwars' conduct against human nature: judge

The judgment pronounced by Additional District Judge Shyam Lal was full of observations on the circumstantial case made out by the CBI against Rajesh and Nupur Talwar.

On the night of murders, the dentist couple was last seen inside the flat with their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj. The next day, Aarushi and Hemraj were found murdered.

In his 208-page order, Justice Lal held both Rajesh and Nupur guilty of murder and destruction of evidence and sentenced them to rigorous life imprisonment.

The order was based on the fact that the parents were the only ones present inside the flat apart from the victims and that there was no possibility that the murders were the handiwork of any outsider(s).

“The accused persons have nowhere taken a plea that someone had come to meet them or their servant Hemraj after 9.30pm on May 15, 2008,” Lal observed in his order.

The judge commented on the key to Aarushi’s room, which had gone missing that night and was found the next day in the lobby of the house. The judge observed that “it is not possible that servant Hemraj was keeping the key of the door of Ms Aarushi’s bedroom as no parent would permit the servant to keep the key with him particularly in the night hours when a young girl is inside her bed room (sic).”

Read: Sudden provocation made Rajesh kill Aarushi Talwar, Hemraj

The CBI had also contended that the clothes worn by the Talwars only had a few blood stains and looked fresh. Some of the prosecution witnesses had also given similar statements when they visited Talwars’ flat after Aarushi’s murder was discovered.

“It is against the order of human nature that on seeing their dearest daughter lying in a pool of blood, the accused being the natural father and mother will not hug her. In the process of hugging, their clothes will be deeply stained with blood but not found so,” Lal remarked.

In his order, the judge also stated, “The inmates of the house cannot get away by simply keeping quiet and offering no explanation in the supposed premise that the burden to establish its case lies entirely upon the prosecution and there is no duty at all on the accused to offer explanation.”

AAP says sting operation attempt to malign party, to approach court

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday hit back at the news portal, which had conducted a sting operation on their candidates, saying the party would file a defamation case against the news website.

Talking to reporters here, AAP member, Yogender Yadav, said: "Relevant portions in the CD were edited out."

Newsportal, Media Sirkar, has submitted the raw tapes of the sting operation to the Election Commission. AAP has also requested the EC to stop the telecast of the CD on different news channels.

Earlier, Arvind Kejriwal's party claimed that the video shown in the sting operation against its leaders is doctored and sought raw footage of the entire sting operation.

"We suspect that the sting tape has been modified and doctored," Yadav said, adding, "We again request Anuranjan Jha to provide us the raw tape."

The Aam Aadmi Party, which is already battling controversies over its funding, found itself in another embarrassing spot on Thursday.

A sting operation by a web portal on eight AAP candidates and one member, including well-known faces like Shazia Ilmi and Kumar Vishwas, allegedly found some of them willing to take donations in cash without a receipt and get work done in return for funds.

Other AAP candidates who featured in the sting were Manoj Kumar from Kondli, Dinesh Mohaniya from Sangam Vihar, Irfan Khan from Okhla, Mukesh Hooda from Rohtas Nagar, Bhawna Gaur from Palam and Prakash from Deoli.

Of these, Gaur is seen not committing to any help and seems in a hurry to get rid of the sting team. Prakash too refuses to grant favours to the undercover journalist and adds that any question regarding donations should only be posed to party convenor Arvind Kejriwal, since all candidates fielded by the party are only "dummy candidates".

"You better speak to Arvind ji. He will tell you what we want. He has fielded 70 candidates, all are dummy (sab dummy hein). I will not be able to take any decision," Gaur is seen saying on tape.

The footage released by web portal mediasarkar.com, the authenticity of which TOI cannot confirm, shows AAP's R K Puram candidate Shazia Ilmi first refusing to help a woman in defaming a rival company without legal documents.

Tarun Tejpal creates Tehelka Offline, Goa Police starts probe into alleged sexual assault

Police in Goa began investigations into alleged sexual assault of a woman journalist of 'Tehelka' by its editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal, a day after he said he has recused himself from editing the magazine for six months, to "atone" for what he termed was lapse of judgment.

On Thursday, the issue dominated television broadcasts and social media with legal experts saying the offence as described in the journalist's complaint can attract punishment up to 10 years in prison if Tejpal was found guilty.

"If we find any substance against Tejpal, a suo motu case can be registered against him since the incident happened in Goa. Only after police report, I would be able to speak more on the issue," Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said. The Goa Police has obtained CCTV footage from the hotel where the incident took place and is examining the evidence.

According to the complaint of the lady journalist to the magazine, Tejpal assaulted her on two separate occasions during an event organised by the magazine in Goa on 8-10 November. She demanded a written apology from Tejpal and that the magazine set up an anti-sexual harassment cell to investigate the matter.

Tehelka is owned by Anant Media Pvt Ltd, majority (75%) owned by corporate entities. Trinamool Congress MP KD Singh used to be a promoter, but his party colleague Derek O'Brien tweeted on Thursday that KD Singh had told him, "I am not the owner of Tehelka. I have nothing to do with the publication." Tarun Tejpal and family control most of the remaining equity. Union minister Kapil Sibal, senior advocate Ram Jethmalani and former Thermax chairman Anu Aga are among minority shareholders. Singh did not respond to questions that were emailed to him. Sibal and Jethmalani did not respond to text messages. Aga said she was unaware of what had happened at the magazine. 

Tarun Tejpal creates Tehelka Offline, Goa Police starts probe into alleged sexual assault Read more at: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/26175819.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Police in Goa began investigations into alleged sexual assault of a woman journalist of 'Tehelka' by its editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal, a day after he said he has recused himself from editing the magazine for six months, to "atone" for what he termed was lapse of judgment.

On Thursday, the issue dominated television broadcasts and social media with legal experts saying the offence as described in the journalist's complaint can attract punishment up to 10 years in prison if Tejpal was found guilty.

"If we find any substance against Tejpal, a suo motu case can be registered against him since the incident happened in Goa. Only after police report, I would be able to speak more on the issue," Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said. The Goa Police has obtained CCTV footage from the hotel where the incident took place and is examining the evidence.

According to the complaint of the lady journalist to the magazine, Tejpal assaulted her on two separate occasions during an event organised by the magazine in Goa on 8-10 November. She demanded a written apology from Tejpal and that the magazine set up an anti-sexual harassment cell to investigate the matter.

Tehelka is owned by Anant Media Pvt Ltd, majority (75%) owned by corporate entities. Trinamool Congress MP KD Singh used to be a promoter, but his party colleague Derek O'Brien tweeted on Thursday that KD Singh had told him, "I am not the owner of Tehelka. I have nothing to do with the publication." Tarun Tejpal and family control most of the remaining equity. Union minister Kapil Sibal, senior advocate Ram Jethmalani and former Thermax chairman Anu Aga are among minority shareholders. Singh did not respond to questions that were emailed to him. Sibal and Jethmalani did not respond to text messages. Aga said she was unaware of what had happened at the magazine. 

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Ink thrown at Kejriwal, he replies to Anna’s charges

A self-proclaimed BJP worker from Maharashtra was arrested after he threw ink at Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan and Manish Sisodia on Monday. The man, Nachiketa Walhekar, comes from Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. He shouted slogans praising Anna Hazare and decried the AAP.

Kejriwal had called a press conference at the Constitution Club to respond to questions Anna Hazare had posed in a letter to him on Sunday. But minutes after Kejriwal disclosed the contents of Hazare's letter, Walhekar threw ink on the three AAP leaders. "They have betrayed the people of this country. They have betrayed Annaji. They have betrayed the Jan Lokpal movement," Walhekar said.

Police arrested Walhekar from the Constitution Club after the incident was reported. "He claims to have been staying at a BJP MP's house in Delhi and said he is a BJP activist who contested panchayat elections in Maharashtra," a senior police officer said.

A case was registered under Sections 448 (trespass), 504 (intentional intent to provoke breach of peace) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC. The complainant stated that others from Nachiketa's group were standing outside Constitution Club. Police were trying to identify these people.

Delhi BJP said Walhekar was not a party member. "The BJP does not approve of such acts and we do not know who this man is," Delhi unit chief Vijay Goel said.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said, "If he was from the BJP he would not be shouting Anna Hazare's name."

It was Hazare's letter to Kejriwal on Sunday that prompted the press conference. In his letter, Hazare asserted that he had nothing to do with the AAP and said that it was "incorrect" for Kejriwal to use his name in the AAP's campaign.

According to Hazare's letter, some people had met him and alleged that the AAP was using funds collected during the Jan Lokpal movement. "You had made some cards with my name on them, through which funds were collected. I have never given... permission to do this. ... using my name for this purpose (collecting money) is not right," Hazare wrote.

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Been a dream journey, no regrets, says Tendulkar

India's cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, who bid a teary farewell to the sport, Sunday said the 22-yard pitch has been a temple for him and thanked the game for making him whatever he is.

A day after ending his 24-year long illustrious career, Tendulkar said he woke up to a different morning before he realised that he didn't need to take an early shower and rush to the ground.

"I woke up at 6.50 a.m. I generally get up according to my body clock. But then I realised that I don't need to take an early shower. So I made some tea for myself and had a lovely breakfast with my wife. Since yesterday I have been getting lot of messages from my friends, so I also responded to them," said Tendulkar, who was dressed in an Indian team blazer and a tie.

The 40-year-old said the feeling of becoming a retired cricketer hasn't sunk in yet.

"It hasn't struck me that I won't play cricket again. It has been a dream journey, no regret that I am leaving cricket. This was the right time to stop playing cricket. It has been an enjoyable journey," he said.

Tendulkar also recalled the moment when he went back to the pitch for the last time and touched it, an image that has captured the imagination of the nation.

"I have never done that in my international career. I knew never ever in my life I would get to do it again. Whatever I am today is because of the 22 yards. It is like a temple for me," he said.

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Sachin retires

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar just can’t keep off records. On the last day of his cricketing career he made two more— by becoming the first sportsperson and also the youngest dignitary to be chosen for Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award.

Along with the 40-year-old batting legend, eminent scientist Prof CNR Rao (80) will also be bestowed with the award given so far to 41per personalities, among them Jawaharlal Nehru, Sir CV Raman, Satyajit Ray, Mother Teresa and Indira Gandhi.

The Bharat Ratna was announced after a gap of four years with Hindustani music doyen Bhimsen Joshi being the last recipient in 2009.

The decision to award Bharat Ratna to Sachin was taken after several noted personalities rooted for it. Fellow Maharashtrian and Bharat Ratna awardee Lata Mangeshkar on Friday said, “Very few people can do what he has done for the country. He deserves the honour, he has made us proud.”

"Sachin Tendulkar is undoubtedly an outstanding cricketer - a living legend who has inspired millions across the globe. During the last 24 years, since the young age of 16 years, Tendulkar has played cricket across the world and won laurels for our country," the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
"He has been a true ambassador of India in the world of sports. His achievements in cricket are unparalleled, the records set by him unmatched, and the spirit of sportsmanship displayed by him exemplary,” the statement said.

“That he has been honoured with several awards is testimony to his extraordinary brilliance as a sportsman."

Prof Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao was hailed in the PMO statement as “an eminent scientist and a well recognised international authority on solid state and materials chemistry who has authored over 1,400 research papers and 45 books”.

The statement said Prof Rao`s contributions have been recognised by most major scientific academies around the world through conferment of memberships and fellowships. He has been honoured with several national and international awards.

He is currently head of the Scientific Advisory Council to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

In January, Rao received China’s top science award for his contributions in boosting India-China scientific cooperation.

Rao also serves as the National Research Professor, and Linus Pauling Research Professor and Honorary President, of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bangalore.

3 dead, 26 injured as train derails in Nashik district

Two of the three victims were identified as Satya Bir Singh (40) from Pathoda in Haryana and Raju Kushwaha (34) from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. "The family of the deceased have left for Nashik," a railway officer said.

The third body was yet to be identified. The derailed coaches included five sleeper class coaches, three 3-AC coaches, two first-class AC coaches, one general second class, a pantry car and the seating-cum-luggage coach.

Among the injured, seven were admitted to Nashik Civil Hospital, three to Vakratunda hospital in Nashik and two to Gramin Hospital, Ghoti. Another 11 injured were treated for simple injuries, Central Railway spokesperson said.

Tendulkar`s farewell Test: Pujara, Sharma slam tons but Sachin's sparkling 74 steals show

 Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar enthralled with a majestic 74 in his farewell knock as India put themselves on course for a clean-sweep by taking a mammoth 313-run first innings lead in the second and final cricket Test against the West Indies here on Friday.

Millions of Tendulkar`s adoring fans waited for a last magical knock from his blade as the 40-year-old batting legend walked into the ground to resume his innings at an overnight 38. He seemed to be in a positive frame of mind as he played an array of breathtaking shots much to the delight of a packed Wankhede stadium.

But the dream three-figure mark eluded the champion batsman in his farewell match but the Indians rode on Rohit Sharma`s (111 unbeaten) second consecutive century and Chteshwar Pujara`s 113 to pile up an imposing 495 for a 313-run lead.

Spinner Shane Shillingford was the pick of te West Indies bowlers, picking up 5/179 after toiling for 43 overs. Narsingh Deonarine chipped in with two wickets.

At stumps, West Indies were struggling at 43 for three in their second innings, still trailing by 270 runs with seven wickets in hand. With three full days left in the game, the visitors have to bat out of their skin to save the match.

But it was Tendulkar who hogged the limelight for the second day running with a sublime knock which included some of his trademark shots, which got rousing cheers from the crowd and a host of VVIPs including Congress vice-President Rahul Gandhi, state chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and Bollywood superstars Aamir Khan and Hrithik Roshan.

Silence descended at the Wankhede when Tendulkar was dfimissed when he thick-edged a Deonarine delivery to Darren Sammy at first slip. The crowd quickly recomposed itself to give Tendulkar a standing ovation as he trudged off the ground one last time.

kar looked fluent during his 68-minute stay at the wicket on the day. He faced 118 balls in all hitting 12 boundaries, all of which were pure class.

He added 148 runs for the second wicket with Pujara, who hit a patient 113 en route his fifth Test century. Pujara hit 12 fours in his 167 ball knock. Rohit hit a classy unbeaten knock of 111 which came off 127 deliveries laced with 11 fours and three sixes.

Playing his first Test at home, Rohit gave a lesson on how to bat with a tail-ender as he completed his second successive Test century having got a reprieve on 85 as he offered a catch in the deep but Shane Shillingford overstepped.

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The name of Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye) can be divided into two components: the ethnonym Türk and the abstract suffix –iye meaning "owner", "land of" or "related to" (originally derived from the Greek and Latin suffixes –ia in Tourkia (Τουρκία) and Turchia; and later from the corresponding Arabic suffix –iyya in Turkiyya (تركيا).) The first recorded use of the term "Türk" or "Türük" as an autonym is contained in the Old Turkic inscriptions of the Göktürks (Celestial Turks) of Central Asia (c. 8th century).

With Sachin Paaji, a part of me will be gone too

A billion people, including Sachin Tendulkar himself, face their moment of truth on Thursday. As the little great man of Indian cricket plays his last Test match, an entire nation is ready to bid an emotional farewell to the cricketer who has given them unbridled joy for well over two decades.

In his privileged company, I have had a first-hand experience of how just one man can hold a nation's breath; how he can even put a smile on a billion faces with the magic of his willow.

I usually keep my emotions in check. But then, there so much happening around 'Paaji's' farewell Test which keeps reminding that this one is indeed a very special occasion for a very special person. Sachin Tendulkar - and Amitabh Bachchan - were my childhood heroes.

I got hooked on to cricket because of Tendulkar. So, personally, it has been an amazing fairytale for me and I feel blessed to have got an opportunity to share the dressing room with Paaji for ten long, illustrious, years.

Millions yearn to wear the India colours. There are those who perhaps would be too happy to wear the India cap at least once. Then there are those who hope to play a bit longer say 25-30 Test matches.

And 100 Tests is a rare milestone even for the best of players and it brings a huge sense of satisfaction and delight. But for someone to play 200 Test matches, in a glittering career for almost 25 years, is simply mind-boggling. It is also a tribute to Paaji's skill, endurance and most of all his passion for the game.

Playing cricket has been Paaji's pilgrimage. All along, he has been totally devoted to the game. Like most cricketers, I too am amazed by his child-like enthusiasm for the game.

Right through his wonderful journey he has been extremely fit and focused and conducted himself with great dignity. He is an institution by himself; all those cricketers who took a leaf out of his book - and there are many of them - have gone on to become better at their craft.

Much like a beautiful early morning dream, everything about Sachin Tendulkar is notably good and he leaves people yearning for a bit more.

He has his own impeccable ways of doing things. He has kept himself in great shape right through, wears that lovely smile, oozing confidence that rubs off on to others. And seldom has this man spoken a word in anger. He is just too happy to let his bat do all the talking.

At times of crisis you always need your best support system to fall back on; a kid would want his parent around, a wife would want her hubby by her side and vice-versa. In much the same way, having Sachin Tendulkar in the dressing room was a great comforting thought for all of us. He has been our 'go-to' man for every problem.

I guess, I never ever had a normal conversation with Paaji simply because of the respect I have for him. Despite knowing and playing with him for a decade now, I must confess, I am still extremely shy, in fact in awe, of him; As far as I could, I would rather avoid him. Of course, the only time I overcome these mental blocks was once I stepped onto the field. There, everybody is equal for me.

Simple, humble, unassuming; Sachin has been a heady cocktail of a cricketing genius, great sporting ambassador for the country, a good mentor and a true friend. He was the boy who brought boys' dreams to life.

He was the son every parent so passionately desired. In that famous movie, 'Mr. India' is an invisible man but Sachin Tendulkar might as well have been a true 'Mr. India' in flesh and blood. Such has been his chemistry with an adoring nation. To his die-hard fans, Sachin is India and India is Sachin.

As the story goes, after Rahul Dravid gave up captaincy, the selectors were keen to give the job to Tendulkar who politely refused and instead backed me for the job.

I feel humbled by the fact that he suggested my name. I felt happy that he reposed his trust in me. Honestly, even if I had not been given the job, the fact that my childhood hero had confidence in me was itself was a good reason to make me feel extremely proud.

SC panel to probe harassment

The girl in her blog had written that claimed that she had faced harassment while she was interning under the recently retired SC judge.
"Interning during the winter vacations of my final year in University, I dodged police barricades and fatigue to go to the assistance of a highly reputed, recently retired Supreme Court judge whom I was working under during my penultimate semester."
"For my supposed diligence, I was rewarded with sexual assault (not physically injurious, but nevertheless violating) from a man old enough to be my grandfather. I won't go into the gory details, but suffice it to say that long after I'd left the room, the memory remained, in fact, still remains, with me," she wrote.
She also claimed that at least three other girls have also faced harassment by the same judge. The girl has said that she had refrained from disclosing the details initially due to the high position that the judge held.
The girl said she that she had "cowardly" decided not to wage legal battle against the judge but but decided to speak out "as I felt I had a responsibility to ensure that other young girls were not put in a similar situation".
"Frankly I was really shocked. There's this thing: a person who is a Supreme Court judge - you don't expect a Supreme Court judge to harass somebody," she wrote in her blog.
Ironically, this case dates back to the time when there was a huge uproar in the country to fight crime against women after the December 16, 2012 gangrape had shocked the nation.

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Narendra Modi is a challenger for Congress, we cannot ignore him: Chidambaram

Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Sunday acknowledged that the Congress party considers BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi as a "challenger."

"As a political party, we acknowledge that he (Modi) is a challenger. We cannot ignore him. He is a candidate fielded by the principal Opposition party. We have to take note of him," he said during an interaction at 'ThinkFest' event currently on in Goa.

The minister, however, said that as an individual he is concerned about his (Modi's) ideology, philosophy and the kind of language he has been using in public rallies.

"So far he (Modi) is extremely opaque. So far he has not spoken on any of the major issues. He has just made election promises," Chidambaram said.

He said the rank and file of Congress party feel that Rahul Gandhi should be leader of the party and leader of government, if it is voted to power in the forthcoming general polls.

Supreme Court stays Gauhati high court's order, 'saves' CBI for now

The CBI, in a limbo since Wednesday's Gauhati high court verdict declared it "unconstitutional" and stripped it of all policing powers, was 'revived' on Saturday after the Supreme Court stayed the high court order following an appeal by the Centre.

A bench of justices Sathasivam and Ranjana P Desai noticed the promptness with which accused in many cases involving serious offences, including the 2G spectrum scam, moved trial courts seeking a stay on the cases against them following the HC verdict. The apex court's interim order will ensure that the CBI carries on with its work. When the SC mentioned media reports about the accused seeking stay of trials, attorney general G E Vahanvati drove home the point by saying the HC judgment, if not stayed, would bring to a grinding halt 1,000 cases being investigated by the CBI and 9,000 trials currently underway.

The bench expressed prima facie doubts on the manner in which the 1963 resolution setting up the CBI had been drafted, but brushed aside minor objections put forth by advocate L S Chaudhury, counsel for Navendra Kumar - the petitioner before the HC - and stayed the judgment under challenge.

It asked Kumar to file a reply to the petition filed by department of personnel and training (DoPT) - the administrative ministry for the CBI - in two weeks and posted the matter for further hearing on December 6.

Vahanvati contended the division bench of the high court "asked wrong questions on wrong premises and proceeded on a completely wrong direction" and applied a "convoluted reasoning to arrive at a wrong conclusion that the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act did not cover the CBI".

He added that the high court had overlooked Section 2 of DSPE Act which empowered the Centre to issue the Resolution in 1963 in the shape of an executive order to create the CBI, a special police force envisaged under the Act.

Immediately after the bench stayed the HC judgment, a buoyant Vahanvati walked out of the CJI's residence, where the hearing was held, and indulged the waiting TV cameras with a rare interaction over the case he successfully argued. Prior to the stay, CBI director Ranjit Sinha was heard saying, on a lighter note, that he was without a job.

In appealing against the HC verdict, DoPT acted with speed rare for the government. The decision to appeal against the verdict in the apex court on Saturday was taken on Friday evening after minister of state for personnel V Narayanswamy met the AG.

Within an hour, the task was assigned to a team of four lawyers led by advocate Devadatt Kamat, which worked through the night and handed over the final draft of the appeal to the AG at 6 am on Saturday. After his clearance, advocate B V Balram Das filed the appeal at 11.30 am in the SC registry with a request for urgent hearing. Acceding to the request, the hearing was fixed at 4.30 pm at the CJI's residence.

The high court's bench of justices I A Ansari and Justice Indira Shah on Wednesday had upheld the constitutional validity of DSPE Act, but ruled that "the CBI is neither an organ nor a part of the DSPE and the CBI cannot be treated as a 'police force' constituted under the DSPE Act".

Countering this logic, the DoPT cited five judgments of the Supreme Court, which had accepted that the CBI was set up under the DSPE Act, and said the HC could not have gone beyond the rulings of the highest court.

Over 100 dead in typhoon onslaught in the Philippines

One of the strongest storms on record slammed into the central Philippines, killing more than 100 people whose bodies lay in the streets of one of the hardest-hit cities, an official said Saturday. Capt. John Andrews, deputy director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the


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Philippines, said more than 100 others were injured in the city of Tacloban on Leyte Island, where Typhoon Haiyan hit Friday.
With power and most communications knocked out a day after the typhoon ravaged the central region, Andrew told The Associated Press that the information about the deaths was relayed to him by his staff in Tacloban.

"The information is reliable," he said.

Nearly 750,000 people were forced to flee their homes and damage was believed to be extensive.

Weather officials said Haiyan had sustained winds of 235 kph (147 mph) with gusts of 275 kph (170 mph) when it made landfall. By those measurements, Haiyan would be comparable to a strong Category 4 hurricane in the U.S., nearly in the top category, a 5.

Hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons are the same thing. They are just called different names in different parts of the world.

Because of cut-off communications in the Philippines, it was impossible to know the full extent of casualties and damage. Officially, four people were listed as dead as of Saturday morning, before the latest information from Tacloban came in.

Southern Leyte Gov. Roger Mercado said the typhoon ripped roofs off houses and triggered landslides that blocked roads.

Centre to contest Gauhati HC ruling on CBI’s validity

The centre will move the Supreme Court to challenge the Gauhati High Court order holding as unconstitutional the government (home ministry) order under which the Central Bureau of Investigation was set up in 1963. “While we decline to hold and declare that the DSPE (Delhi Special Police Establishment) Act, 1946, is not a valid piece of legislation, we do hold that the CBI is neither an organ nor a part of the DSPE and the CBI cannot be treated as a ‘police force’ constituted under the DSPE Act, 1946,” said Justice Iqbal Ahmed Ansari and Justice Indira Shah of Gauhati High Court in their judgment Wednesday. Having held that CBI was not a police force under the DSPE Act, the high court said, “We hereby also set aside and quash the impugned Resolution, dated 01.04.1963, whereby CBI has been constituted.” The court quashed the executive order issued in 1963 for establishing the CBI under DSPE Act while addressing eight questions it had framed for its consideration that included whether CBI – created by a resolution of the home ministry in exercise of its executive power – was a constitutionally valid police force empowered to “investigate” crimes. Another poser, which the high court addressed was “…is it permissible for the Executive to create a ‘police force’ with power to ‘investigate’ crimes in exercise of its executive powers, when exercise of such a power adversely affects or infringes fundamental rights embodied in Part III of the Constitution, particularly, Article 21?” Describing the judgment as “totally erroneous”, Additional Solicitor General P.P. Malhotra told IANS that the formation of the CBI has been held valid by the Supreme Court by its number of judgments, the latest being in 2010, when the apex court ruled that courts can order a CBI probe without the consent of the states. The apex court ruling by the five-judge constitution bench had upheld the power of the courts to order CBI probe as it rejected the plea by the West Bengal government and others that the CBI could not conduct probe in other states without the consent of the concerned state government. Malhotra, who had appeared for the centre before the Gauhati High Court, said that the constitutional validity of the Act and the formation of the CBI was also upheld way back in 1970 in an advance insurance case. Malhotra said he was awaiting the copy of the Gauhati High Court judgment and soon after receiving it he would move the apex court challenging it and seeking suspension of its operation. Holding that the high court verdict would not adversely affect the working of the investigating agency in ongoing investigations, Malhotra was hopeful of moving the apex court Monday, when it opens after the Diwali vacation. This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.

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Govt rejects demand for SPG security to Modi

Security is given according to threat perception to a person. We have given him NSG security, which is a very high level of security. His security personnel have been asked to conduct advance security drill before his visit to any place," Singh said.

The BJP, he said, was doing politics in the name of Modi’s security because it was aware that an act of parliament envisages SPG security can be provided only to the Prime Minister, former prime ministers and their immediate family members.

Singh was reacting to BJP's claim that the serial blasts at its Hunkar (battle cry) rally in Patna on October 27 were an attempt to liquidate the party leadership, including Modi. Six people were killed and many injured in the blasts allegedly carried out by Indian Mujahideen.

"The Congress instead of playing politics should take the threat of terrorism seriously. The Patna blasts were aimed at liquidating top BJP leaders at the rally,” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told a press briefing in New Delhi.

"We have lost two Prime Ministers to terrorism. We should not do politics on the issue of security," said Javadekar, referring to the assassinations of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

But Singh countered the charges of laxity in providing security to Rajiv Gandhi and said when Gandhi was out of power, he was not given security even at the level of a sub-Inspector. He was killed in a suicide bomb attack in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu in May 1991.

"But we are not doing like that. The home ministry wants to give the assurance to everyone that it will give security to anyone according to his or her threat perception. Fool- proof security will be given to Modi," he said.

Javadekar accused the Centre and the Bihar government of being grossly negligent about the security provided at the Patna rally.

Merely Endorsed EC View on Opinion Polls: Cong

Faced with a political controversy over its stand seeking a ban on opinion polls, Congress today struck a cautious note, saying it had merely endorsed EC's views even as various party leaders slammed these surveys as being a "racket", "farcical" and "manipulated".

Reading from a bunch of letters from Election Commission (EC), party spokesperson Meem Afzal said, "Since (today) morning, there is an attempt to show that Congress is opposing opinion polls.

"That is wrong. We did not say anything on our own. Of course, we have given our opinion... Our party fully endorses the EC view. So, we have given a view when an opinion was sought... We have not written a letter on our own. We have just replied," he added.

Although Congress did not say that opinion polls were being manipulated, such abuse was possible and that was also the view of EC, he said.

"It is wrong to accuse Congress of demanding it (ban) when EC, which conducts elections, is saying all this. We have only endorsed EC's opinion," Afzal said, maintaining that the party's view had been "consistent" throughout that opinion polls were something doubtful.

Party general secretary Digvijay Singh, however, minced no words in slamming opinion polls, saying "These have become a farce. They should be banned altogether. The kind of complaints, information that I have got, show that anybody can pay and get a survey as desired."

Wondering how a few thousand people could predict election trends for a country of 1.2 billion people, he said, "It has become a racket. So many groups have sprung up."

Union Minister Rajiv Shukla, speaking separately, said that opinion polls were also at times "manipulated" and, thus, the party had done the right thing by having opposed it.

At the AICC briefing, Afzal said opinion polls do affect the popular opinion and were a "sort of burden" on democratic rights.

To hammer home his point, he also quoted from the EC letter to parties stating that there could be several manipulated opinion polls which could impact the voting pattern.

Afzal also pointed out that when EC had convened a meeting of political parties to elicit their views on prohibiting or restricting opinion and exit polls during elections in 2004, political parties had "unanimously" agreed that the results of such surveys should not be published before the closing of all phases of elections.

Ahead of Assembly elections in five states in December this year, EC had again sought the views of the political parties on whether to ban opinion polls after the Centre earlier asked it to hold fresh consultations on the matter.

In a letter dated October 4, EC asked various recognised national and state-level political parties to give their views on the issue by October 21. It then sent a reminder on October 25 asking the parties to respond by a fresh deadline of November 4.

In a written reply to EC on October 30, Congress said it "fully endorses the views of the Election Commission of India to restrict publication and dissemination of opinion polls during election (time).

"In fact, opinion polls during elections are neither scientific nor is there any transparent process for such polls," Congress said in its official response to EC.

"Our leaders have always said that we do not have faith in it (opinion polls). We always said they were doubtful," he added.

Countering the Congress demand for a ban on opinion polls, BJP leader Arun Jaitley said that any such restriction was neither constitutionally permissible nor desirable.

Opinion polls are an element of free speech, Jaitley said, while maintaining that only losers demanded a ban on them.

Congress, however, rejected BJP's charge that it was opposed to opinion polls as it was "scared" of Narendra Modi, since these surveys were predicting an edge for BJP.

At present, there is a ban on opinion polls starting 48 hours before voting.