The Delhi High Court on Monday rejected Yogendra Yadav-led Swaraj India's plea for allotting a common symbol to its candidates in the upcoming municipal elections.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Chander Shekhar said that allotting them a common symbol for this MCD election would tantamount to disturbing the ongoing election process.

“We are not inclined to issue any interim order for a common election symbol to applicant (Swaraj India) in the ensuing municipal elections,” the bench said, adding that the interim order is tentative and would not be considered as final opinion.

MCD elections will be held on April 23.

It said the matter required consideration whether the registered and unrecognised party should be given a common symbol or not.
The court has now listed the matter for further hearing on the pending writ petition on July 18.

The court's interim order came on Swaraj India party's interim application seeking common symbol for the MCD polls, for which Monday is the last date of filing nominations.

It said that granting interim relief would cripple the entire election process.

The bench also upheld its single-judge order which had found merit in the stand of the Delhi state election commission that Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) would carry photographs of candidates and the party would not have any disadvantage without a common symbol.

The single judge had on March 29 said since the plea was filed after the polling process was underway, it was very late in the day for the court to interfere.

The single judge's verdict had come on the party's plea challenging the Delhi poll panel's decision not to allot a common symbol to it to contest the MCD polls.

Swaraj India had sought quashing of the panel's March 14, 2017 notification and an April 2016 order which had said that the nominees of such parties would be treated as independent candidates for allotment of symbols.

Swaraj India was floated in October last year by Yadav and advocate Prashant Bhushan, who were expelled from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) after they questioned Arvind Kejriwal's leadership.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached a farmhouse with a market value of Rs.27 crore in connection with its money laundering probe against Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and others.

The agency has issued a provisional order attaching the farmhouse located in south Delhi's Mehrauli area under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

It said the book value of the asset is Rs.6.61 crore but its market value is “worth Rs.27 crore and is in the name of “Maple Destinations & Dreambuild”.

The latest ED action comes close on the heels of the CBI filing a charge sheet against Singh and his wife and others for allegedlyamassing assets worth around Rs.10 crore disproportionate to their known sources of income.

The ED had filed a criminal case under PMLA against the CM and others in 2015 based on a CBI FIR.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached a farmhouse with a market value of Rs.27 crore in connection with its money laundering probe against Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and others.

The agency has issued a provisional order attaching the farmhouse located in south Delhi's Mehrauli area under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

It said the book value of the asset is Rs.6.61 crore but its market value is “worth Rs.27 crore and is in the name of “Maple Destinations & Dreambuild”.

The latest ED action comes close on the heels of the CBI filing a charge sheet against Singh and his wife and others for allegedlyamassing assets worth around Rs.10 crore disproportionate to their known sources of income.

The ED had filed a criminal case under PMLA against the CM and others in 2015 based on a CBI FIR.

In a major development to the beef ban case, the Supreme Court on Monday deferred petitions challenging the Bombay High Court order, which upheld the beef ban imposed by the Maharashtra government for 10 days.

The Maharashtra government had imposed the beef ban after the enactment of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act that bans slaughter of bulls and bullocks.

Earlier in January, the Bombay High Court had upheld the ban imposed by the state government.

The Bombay High Court had said in January that mere possession of meat cannot invite criminal action while striking down the relevant sections of the act.

(With inputs from agencies)

In a major development to the beef ban case, the Supreme Court on Monday deferred petitions challenging the Bombay High Court order, which upheld the beef ban imposed by the Maharashtra government for 10 days.

The Maharashtra government had imposed the beef ban after the enactment of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act that bans slaughter of bulls and bullocks.

Earlier in January, the Bombay High Court had upheld the ban imposed by the state government.

The Bombay High Court had said in January that mere possession of meat cannot invite criminal action while striking down the relevant sections of the act.

(With inputs from agencies)

A parliamentary committee has expressed concern that no land and airspace in and around the stations have so far been commercially developed as part of the station redevelopment programme.
Railway Convention Committee (RCC) in its latest report has asked the Railways to look into the matter with a sense of urgency so as to ensure that the station redevelopment programme as announced in successive rail budgets is truly achieved.
The redevelopment plan of railways envisages that the entire cost of station redevelopment will be met by leveraging commercial development of land and airspace in an around the stations.
The RCC headed by BJD MP Bhartuhari Mahtab has observed that for capacity augmentation and modernisation, railways require Rs 8.56 lakh crore between 2015 and 2019, out of which approximately Rs 1.2 lakh crore is estimated to be mobilised from extra budgetary resources, including public private partnership.
The 18-member committee has urged the Railways to expedite the completion of three joint-venture (JV) projects in port connectivity.
The JV projects including Obulavaripalle-Venkatchalam new line, Angul-Sukinda new line and Hridaspur-Paradip new line should be expedited so that railways capacity augmentation takes place as per the schedule, the panel in its report submitted to the Parliament said.
Taking note of the works on private freight terminals (PFT), the committee recommended that the completion and commissioning of 40 PFTs undertaken at the moment to be speeded up so as to serve the very purpose of the scheme.
Private freight terminals launched in 2010 aims to facilitate development of a network of freight terminals with private investment and provide efficient and cost effective logistic services.
The committee asked railways to make efforts to rope in more private operators to run the container trains so that there is further increase in the loading capacity and revenue earning for the public transporter.
The RCC suggested Railway Ministry to facilitate procurement of more rakes by various firms under liberalised wagon investment scheme so that more investment is made in the railways capacity augmentation programme.
The committee also suggested for according approval to the private companies for procurement of more rakes in future for induction in railways under the policy for automobile freight train operator scheme so that railways market share in transportation of automobile increases.

Actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who is currently gearing up for Chanda Mama Door Ke, says preparing for the movie is helping him get to know his childhood dream.

Sushant on Sunday shared a photograph of a notebook, which read: Theory Of Astronaut Training 

The actor said he is really excited to prepare for his role in the film.

"Really excited to start this. Getting to know my childhood dream Chanda Mama Door Ke. Sanjay P. Chauhan, Viki Rajani," captioned the image. 

Sushant, who was last seen on screen in the biopic M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, will reportedly be playing an astronaut in Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan's directorial.

Other details about the space adventure film are still under wraps.
 

Injury has yet again forced Yuki Bhambri out of a Davis Cup tie but the country's top singles player denied that there was anything wrong with his training methods.

Bhambri is nursing a knee strain will miss the tie against Uzbekistan starting April 7.

Bhambri's career has been marred by a spate of injuries, which adversely affected his progress on the professional tour after a successful run in the junior circuit.

The Delhi lad had to spend half of the 2016 season outside the courts due to a tennis elbow injury. It happened when he was expected to scale greater heights after breaking into top-100 late in 2015 and was even planning to hire a travelling coach.

Yuki made a stupendous start to the current season by qualifying for the Chennai Open and recently reached two Challenger level semifinals in China.

However, now a strain in his knee has ruled him out of the Asia/Oceania Group I tie, scheduled for the weekend.

"I am ready for any input. I am the first person , who does not want to get injured. If anybody can help me in telling what I am doing right or wrong, I will happily take that on board," Yuki, was once a World No 1 in junior circuit, declared.

"As far as I am concerned, I train the best I can. What I am doing is correct but sometimes, you just can t control things," Yuki said.

Yuki asserted that he will be back with a bang.

"This (injury) is a minor one, just came at a wrong time.

There is nothing that should stop me (from doing well ) this season. I should be back by the end of this month," he said.

In 2016, Yuki had missed out on two home ties against Korea and Spain.

"It's always disappointing to miss any tie, whether it's a home tie or an away tie. It's a bit unfortunate. Hopefully, we can win this and I can comeback to play the Play-offs (in September)."

His absence certainly changes the equation and non-playing captain Mahesh Bhupathi has been left with no option but to ask either Leander Paes or Rohan Bopanna to be in playing squad.

When an opponent of Denis Istomin's calibre is across the court, the hosts needed a fighter like Yuki, who has matured as a player. However, Yuki says India had enough ammunition to counter the Uzbeks.

"It's a shame but we will be fine. We have enough people now. For the last 10 days, I was playing with pain in my knee.

It's a bit sore. I did not want to take a chance and push early this season," Yuki, who is now placed outside top-300, explained.

When reminded that Ramkumar was not having a great time and that India will find is extremely tough in his absence, Yuki backed his teammate.

"Who says Ramkumar is struggling? He is doing well, he has won good matches. He has beaten top 120, 150 (ranked players)."

Captain Bhupathi had introduced new rules for the players and one of those was that all the players have to prove their fitness before making themselves available national duty.

Asked if he had undergone that test, Yuki replied in a negative.

"I was supposed to but I realised I won't be able to play. But hopefully by the next tie, I will be fit and will have my tests done."

Yuki said it would be unfair to comment on Bhupathi's style of captaincy without having played under him but supported the changes he was bringing in.

"Every captain brings his distinct style. I absolutely loved playing under Anand (Amritraj). I think everyone is going to enjoy under Mahesh as well. I don't see any harm in this (idea of fitness test). It's only beneficial for the players and the team," he said.

The winner of the second round tie, slated for April 7-9 in Bengaluru, will qualify for the World Group Play-offs in September.

Injury has yet again forced Yuki Bhambri out of a Davis Cup tie but the country's top singles player denied that there was anything wrong with his training methods.

Bhambri is nursing a knee strain will miss the tie against Uzbekistan starting April 7.

Bhambri's career has been marred by a spate of injuries, which adversely affected his progress on the professional tour after a successful run in the junior circuit.

The Delhi lad had to spend half of the 2016 season outside the courts due to a tennis elbow injury. It happened when he was expected to scale greater heights after breaking into top-100 late in 2015 and was even planning to hire a travelling coach.

Yuki made a stupendous start to the current season by qualifying for the Chennai Open and recently reached two Challenger level semifinals in China.

However, now a strain in his knee has ruled him out of the Asia/Oceania Group I tie, scheduled for the weekend.

"I am ready for any input. I am the first person , who does not want to get injured. If anybody can help me in telling what I am doing right or wrong, I will happily take that on board," Yuki, was once a World No 1 in junior circuit, declared.

"As far as I am concerned, I train the best I can. What I am doing is correct but sometimes, you just can t control things," Yuki said.

Yuki asserted that he will be back with a bang.

"This (injury) is a minor one, just came at a wrong time.

There is nothing that should stop me (from doing well ) this season. I should be back by the end of this month," he said.

In 2016, Yuki had missed out on two home ties against Korea and Spain.

"It's always disappointing to miss any tie, whether it's a home tie or an away tie. It's a bit unfortunate. Hopefully, we can win this and I can comeback to play the Play-offs (in September)."

His absence certainly changes the equation and non-playing captain Mahesh Bhupathi has been left with no option but to ask either Leander Paes or Rohan Bopanna to be in playing squad.

When an opponent of Denis Istomin's calibre is across the court, the hosts needed a fighter like Yuki, who has matured as a player. However, Yuki says India had enough ammunition to counter the Uzbeks.

"It's a shame but we will be fine. We have enough people now. For the last 10 days, I was playing with pain in my knee.

It's a bit sore. I did not want to take a chance and push early this season," Yuki, who is now placed outside top-300, explained.

When reminded that Ramkumar was not having a great time and that India will find is extremely tough in his absence, Yuki backed his teammate.

"Who says Ramkumar is struggling? He is doing well, he has won good matches. He has beaten top 120, 150 (ranked players)."

Captain Bhupathi had introduced new rules for the players and one of those was that all the players have to prove their fitness before making themselves available national duty.

Asked if he had undergone that test, Yuki replied in a negative.

"I was supposed to but I realised I won't be able to play. But hopefully by the next tie, I will be fit and will have my tests done."

Yuki said it would be unfair to comment on Bhupathi's style of captaincy without having played under him but supported the changes he was bringing in.

"Every captain brings his distinct style. I absolutely loved playing under Anand (Amritraj). I think everyone is going to enjoy under Mahesh as well. I don't see any harm in this (idea of fitness test). It's only beneficial for the players and the team," he said.

The winner of the second round tie, slated for April 7-9 in Bengaluru, will qualify for the World Group Play-offs in September.

Bollywood actress Kajol says her daughter Nysa is too young to decide whether she wants to follow the footsteps of her parents and become an actor.

Kajol says that her 13-year-old daughter is going through a phase of "no homework" and is not really thinking about anything else.

"She has no aspirations towards anything right now because she is too young. She is right now leaning towards no homework and vegetating on the sofa. She is in that space and enjoying and acting isn't on her mind," Kajol told.

Kajol, who also has a six-year-old son Yug with actor husband Ajay Devgn, says though she loves being a mother, it is easier being an actress than a parent as it is a full time job which requires absolute dedication.

"It is easier being an actress than a mother. It is difficult (being a mother) because it is a full time job, you have to be mentally aware, be 100 percent there with your children at every moment. You learn new things from your kids everyday even in the process of teaching them," she says.

The 42-year-old actress says, when the kids are growing up, the attitude of parents has to change towards their them and should have faith in the upbringing.

"Over the years the kids don't change so much as your attitude towards them has to change. You have to start believing in your upbringing after a point. You have to believe you've done a good job so far, start trusting them to make the right decision." 

As a kid, however, Kajol says she never was star-struck or shy because she comes from film family herself.

"May be because I came from a film family, I was never nervous, shy or blushed in front of celebrities. That's my personality. I was pretty much okay with most people. I never had the sense of being star struck." 

Kajol yesterday launched McVitie's cream biscuits, of which she is the brand ambassador.

The actress says she puts in a lot of thought before coming on board as the face of any brand.

Bollywood actress Kajol says her daughter Nysa is too young to decide whether she wants to follow the footsteps of her parents and become an actor.

Kajol says that her 13-year-old daughter is going through a phase of "no homework" and is not really thinking about anything else.

"She has no aspirations towards anything right now because she is too young. She is right now leaning towards no homework and vegetating on the sofa. She is in that space and enjoying and acting isn't on her mind," Kajol told.

Kajol, who also has a six-year-old son Yug with actor husband Ajay Devgn, says though she loves being a mother, it is easier being an actress than a parent as it is a full time job which requires absolute dedication.

"It is easier being an actress than a mother. It is difficult (being a mother) because it is a full time job, you have to be mentally aware, be 100 percent there with your children at every moment. You learn new things from your kids everyday even in the process of teaching them," she says.

The 42-year-old actress says, when the kids are growing up, the attitude of parents has to change towards their them and should have faith in the upbringing.

"Over the years the kids don't change so much as your attitude towards them has to change. You have to start believing in your upbringing after a point. You have to believe you've done a good job so far, start trusting them to make the right decision." 

As a kid, however, Kajol says she never was star-struck or shy because she comes from film family herself.

"May be because I came from a film family, I was never nervous, shy or blushed in front of celebrities. That's my personality. I was pretty much okay with most people. I never had the sense of being star struck." 

Kajol yesterday launched McVitie's cream biscuits, of which she is the brand ambassador.

The actress says she puts in a lot of thought before coming on board as the face of any brand.

Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and her Czech partner Barbora Strycova were stunned by unseeded giantkillers Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Xu Yifan from China in the women's doubles summit clash of the Miami Open here.

Sania and Strycova, aiming for their third title together, lost 4-6 3-6 in a match that lasted little over an hour.

Before this tournament, she and Dabrowski had never been on the same court for a match — as partners or opponents — but practiced together at the BNP Paribas Open.

Prior to the final, Dabrowski and Yifan had knocked out eighth seeds Abigail Spears and Katarina Srebotnik besides upsetting three of the top-four seeds in succession.

Down a break to start the match, Dabrowski and Xu took eight of the next nine games to lead by a set and 4-1. They served the title out to win their first Premier Mandatory title.

Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and her Czech partner Barbora Strycova were stunned by unseeded giantkillers Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Xu Yifan from China in the women's doubles summit clash of the Miami Open here.

Sania and Strycova, aiming for their third title together, lost 4-6 3-6 in a match that lasted little over an hour.

Before this tournament, she and Dabrowski had never been on the same court for a match — as partners or opponents — but practiced together at the BNP Paribas Open.

Prior to the final, Dabrowski and Yifan had knocked out eighth seeds Abigail Spears and Katarina Srebotnik besides upsetting three of the top-four seeds in succession.

Down a break to start the match, Dabrowski and Xu took eight of the next nine games to lead by a set and 4-1. They served the title out to win their first Premier Mandatory title.

Tax evasion of over Rs.5 crore under the GST regime would be non-bailable offence with the police having authority to make an arrest without a warrant.

The Central GST (CGST) Act provides that if the offences relating to taxable goods and/or services where the amount of tax evaded or the amount of input tax credit wrongly availed or the amount of refund wrongly taken exceeds Rs 5 crore, shall be cognizable and non-bailable.

In a 223-page FAQ on Goods and Services Tax (GST), the CBEC said other offences under the act are non-cognizable and bailable.

The government has set a target date of July 1 for roll out of the GST, which will subsume central excise, service tax, VAT and other local levies.

As per the FAQ, cognizable offence means serious category of offences in respect of which a police officer has the authority to make an arrest without a warrant and to start an investigation with or without the permission of a court.

Non-cognizable offence means relatively less serious offences in respect of which a police officer does not have the authority to make an arrest without a warrant and an investigation cannot be initiated without a court order, it said.

Outlining the safeguards to be taken during arrest, the FAQ said if a person is arrested for a cognizable offence, he must be informed in writing of the grounds of arrest and he must be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours of his arrest.

If a person is arrested for a non-cognizable and bailable offence, the Deputy/ Assistant Commissioner of CGST/SGST can release him on bail and he will be subject to the same provisions as an officer in-charge of a police station under section 436 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

The FAQ provides that, if a person does not appear before a CGST/SGST officer who has issued the summon, he is liable to a penalty of up to Rs.25,000.

Also, the tax department have guidelines to ensure that summon provisions are not misused by field officers.

As per the guidelines, summons are to be issued as a "last resort where assessees are not co-operating and this should not be used for the top management.

"Also the language of the summons should not be harsh and legal which causes unnecessary mental stress and embarrassment to the receiver," it said.

Further, summons by the superintendents should be issued after obtaining prior written permission from an officer not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner with the reasons for issuance of summons to be recorded in writing.

"Senior management officials such as CEO, CFO, General Managers of a large company or a Public Sector Undertaking should not generally be issued summons at the first instance.

They should be summoned only when there are indications in the investigation of their involvement in the decision making process which led to loss of revenue," the guidelines said.

The Central GST (CGST) and State GST (SGST) Act have empowered the officers from Police, Railways, Customs, village officers, and any other government officers to assist CGST and SGST officers under the GST regime.

Tax evasion of over Rs.5 crore under the GST regime would be non-bailable offence with the police having authority to make an arrest without a warrant.

The Central GST (CGST) Act provides that if the offences relating to taxable goods and/or services where the amount of tax evaded or the amount of input tax credit wrongly availed or the amount of refund wrongly taken exceeds Rs 5 crore, shall be cognizable and non-bailable.

In a 223-page FAQ on Goods and Services Tax (GST), the CBEC said other offences under the act are non-cognizable and bailable.

The government has set a target date of July 1 for roll out of the GST, which will subsume central excise, service tax, VAT and other local levies.

As per the FAQ, cognizable offence means serious category of offences in respect of which a police officer has the authority to make an arrest without a warrant and to start an investigation with or without the permission of a court.

Non-cognizable offence means relatively less serious offences in respect of which a police officer does not have the authority to make an arrest without a warrant and an investigation cannot be initiated without a court order, it said.

Outlining the safeguards to be taken during arrest, the FAQ said if a person is arrested for a cognizable offence, he must be informed in writing of the grounds of arrest and he must be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours of his arrest.

If a person is arrested for a non-cognizable and bailable offence, the Deputy/ Assistant Commissioner of CGST/SGST can release him on bail and he will be subject to the same provisions as an officer in-charge of a police station under section 436 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

The FAQ provides that, if a person does not appear before a CGST/SGST officer who has issued the summon, he is liable to a penalty of up to Rs.25,000.

Also, the tax department have guidelines to ensure that summon provisions are not misused by field officers.

As per the guidelines, summons are to be issued as a "last resort where assessees are not co-operating and this should not be used for the top management.

"Also the language of the summons should not be harsh and legal which causes unnecessary mental stress and embarrassment to the receiver," it said.

Further, summons by the superintendents should be issued after obtaining prior written permission from an officer not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner with the reasons for issuance of summons to be recorded in writing.

"Senior management officials such as CEO, CFO, General Managers of a large company or a Public Sector Undertaking should not generally be issued summons at the first instance.

They should be summoned only when there are indications in the investigation of their involvement in the decision making process which led to loss of revenue," the guidelines said.

The Central GST (CGST) and State GST (SGST) Act have empowered the officers from Police, Railways, Customs, village officers, and any other government officers to assist CGST and SGST officers under the GST regime.

Hit by the Supreme Court's order on extending the liquor ban to hotels and restaurants on highways along with liquor vends, the stakeholders have decided to meet the government officials to seek a way out of the ban.

"We are planning to meet the tourism minster to apprise him of the enormous losses to both states and to the industry.

The total consolidated loss will be around 1 lakh crore," National Restaurant Association of India President Riyaaz Amlani told PTI.

The government should at least urgently denotify the highways that are under the municipality limits, he added.

Speaking in the similar vein, Bird Hospitality Executive Director Ankur Bhatia said: "What we are expecting that the government will denotify the highways as some state governments have already done".

The overall impact of the ban is huge as most of the hotels and restaurants are on the highways, and it is impossible to relocate them while it is easier to relocate liquor vends, he added.

The stakeholders had met today to chalk out a strategy going forward.

The impact of the ban can be gauged from the fact that as per Road Transport and Highways Ministry officials, Union Territories such as Daman have requested the ministry to deregister highways as liquor is one of the main source of their revenues.

In a tweet, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant also said: "Tourism creates jobs. Why kill it".

Oberoi Group President and former chairperson WTTC Kapil Chopra told PTI: "It is very important that government and private sector should come together to resolve the issue as around 1 million jobs will be impacted due to the ban and the revenue loss too would be enormous." 

Moreover, unlike the vends the restaurants and hotels work under a very regulated environment, he added.

The Rupee continued its upward trend and traded two paise higher at 65.07 against the US Dollar in the afternoon trade on Monday amid fresh selling of the US currency by exporters and banks.

Higher trade in the domestic equity market influenced the Rupee uptrend, Forex dealers said.

On Friday, the domestic currency had closed seven paise higher at 64.85 on bouts of Dollar selling from banks and exporters. Friday’s closing was fresh 17-month closing high.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was trading 202 points or 0.68 per cent higher at 29,822 at 12.30 am on Monday.

(With inputs from agencies)