RIVANCH

In his recently published memoir Justice for the Judge, former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, now a Rajya Sabha MP against whom a privilege notice has been filed for allegedly disparaging the Upper House, reveals the tension that inhabits the relationship between the government and the judiciary. But he deals sparingly in his recent media interviews with the crucial National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act which a Supreme Court bench controversially struck down in 2015. First rewind to an incident that reflects the nexus between the executive branch and the judiciary. Gogoi was a judge in the Gauhati High Court. The late Tarun Gogoi was chief minister in the Congress government in Assam. Justice Gogoi says in his book that the chief minister tried to influence “the outcome of the police constables case”. Such political interference in the judicial process is not uncommon. An entire ecosystem has developed over the years to subvert the criminal justice system. The ...

Lok Sabha witnessed a stormy Wednesday morning when former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi gave an adjournment notice in the Lok Sabha for discussing the SIT report in a case of violence in Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh, in which eight people were killed. The Congress leader's notice submitted to the Lok Sabha secretary general, read: "The UP Police SIT report has highlighted that massacre of farmers at Lakhimpur was a pre-planned conspiracy and not a negligent act. The SIT has recommended for the modification of the charges against all the accused." He also stated that the Centre must sack Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra, whose son Ashish Mishra has been arrested in the case. "The government should immediately sack the MoS, Home Affairs, Ajay Kumar Mishra, and ensure that justice is delivered to the families of the victims," Gandhi said in his notice. On Tuesday, the SIT report stated that the Lakhimpur Kheri incident , which took plac...

The Serum Institute of India (SII) has pledged £50 million ($66.2 million) to the University of Oxford for setting up the Poonawalla Vaccines Research Building at the University of Oxford. The investment was made through the Indian company’s SerumLife Sciences unit, Oxford University said on Wednesday. The Poonawalla Vaccines Research Building will be built on the same site as the recently announced Oxford University Pandemic Sciences Centre, on the University’s Old Road Campus. The buildings will share infrastructure and support facilities for scientific research and academic teaching and together will form a unique hub that will significantly contribute to global pandemic preparedness and responsiveness. The main focus of the research taking place in the Poonawalla Building will be vaccinology. This new facility will house over 300 research scientists and itself will provide the focus and scale for the university’s major vaccine development programmes allowing a rapid, productive...

Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor of the Indian Air Force helicopter crash near Coonoor on 8 December, has passed away after succumbing to his injuries, the IAF has tweeted. IAF is deeply saddened to inform the passing away of braveheart Group Captain Varun Singh, who succumbed this morning to the injuries sustained in the helicopter accident on 08 Dec 21. IAF offers sincere condolences and stands firmly with the bereaved family. — Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) December 15, 2021 Group Captain Singh was undergoing treatment at a military hospital in Bengaluru. On Tuesday, speaking to news agency ANI , IAF officials had said, "Group Captain Varun Singh's medical condition continues to be critical but he is stable. He is on life support system in Bangalore Command Hospital." Shortly after it was confirmed that Group Captain Varun Singh had passed away, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid condolences on Twitter. Group Captain Varun Singh served the nation wi...

The Lunglei Battalion of the 23 Sector Assam Rifles has recently constructed and installed a 47-feet Christmas star  in Mizoram on Monday, 13 December. As per the Assam Rifles official in Aizawl, the humongous star is the largest Christmas Star of Northeast. Named after the first biblical Christmas, the Star of Bethlehem is installed with a message to spread positivity and togetherness among the local public. This star is erected as a symbol of hope and marks the advent of this year's Christmas season, according to a statement given by an Assam Rifles official. The Star of Bethlehem which is constructed at Lunglei in the state, is open to local residents, who have been invited to view the massive Christmas decoration. This 47-feet star has become the talk of the town with many families organising picnics there. The residents of the area are glad to see the star. Along with praising the efforts of Assam Rifles, the local public has also appreciated the spirit and messa...

After detecting its first Omicron case in India on 2 December, the country’s tally of the new COVID-19 variant has gone up to 45. With 20 cases of Omicron, Maharashtra has the most cases, followed by Rajasthan (9), Karnataka (3), Gujarat (4), Kerala (1) and Andhra Pradesh (1) and Union Territories of Delhi (6) and Chandigarh (1). As Omicron, which the World Health Organization deemed as a ‘variant of concern’, spreads here’s where we stand today. Delhi: On Tuesday, four people were detected with the Omicron variant. Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain confirming the same said that the new cases, who are isolating at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan, had travel history to foreign countries. With these new cases, the capital's tally has risen to six. The first case was recorded on 5 December when a 37-year-old fully-vaccinated man, who arrived in the city from Tanzania, tested positive and the other was reported last week when a fully-vaccinated individual with a travel history t...

The final admit cards for the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) December 2021 exam are expected to be released by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) today, 14 December. Eligible candidates can check and download the final hall ticket of CTET 2021, once it is released, on the official website of CTET ctet.nic.in . In order to download the hall ticket, candidates have to login to the CBSE CTET portal with their application number and date of birth. Simple process to download the final CTET 2021 hall tickets: Go to the official website of CTET - ctet.nic.in Click on the link-'Download Final Admit CTET December 2021' on the homepage Key in your login details with the security pin The final hall ticket will appear on the screen Check and download the CTET 2021 Admit Card The CTET 2021 will commence on 16 December 2021 and will conclude on 13 January 2022. The exams will be held in two slots of 150 minutes each. The first shift will be held from 9:30 am t...