Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 24 (PTI) BJP stalwart and former finance minister Arun Jaitley died on Saturday at AIIMS. He was 66.

In a brief statement, the hospital said Jaitley died at 12.07 pm.

It is with profound grief that we inform about the sad demise of Arun Jaitley, former Finance Minister of Government of India, at 12.07 pm on August 24, the AIIMS said.

Jaitley was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on August 9 and was treated by a multi-disciplinary team of senior doctors.

New Delhi, Aug 23 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine the validity of a newly enacted law which makes the practice of instant divorce through triple talaq among Muslims a punishable offence entailing imprisonment of up to three years.

A bench of justices N V Ramana and Ajay Rastogi issued notice to the Centre on a batch of petitions which has sought to declare The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019 as "unconstitutional" on grounds that it allegedly violates the provisions of the Constitution.

New Delhi, Aug 23 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to pass orders within two weeks on extension of tenure of the special judge conducting trial in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case, involving BJP veterans L K Advani, M M Joshi and Uma Bharti, in Lucknow.

A bench of justices R F Nariman and Surya Kant said a fresh letter has been written by the special judge on July 27 in which he had made five requests including providing him security.

New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) A petition was filed in the Supreme Court Thursday challenging the newly enacted law which makes the practice of instant divorce through 'triple talaq' among Muslims a punishable offence entailing imprisonment of up to three years.

The fresh plea has been filed by Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind, a Muslim body, which sought to declare The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 as "unconstitutional" on the ground that it allegedly violates the provisions of the Constitution.

New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) A plea was filed in the Supreme Court on Thursday challenging the constitutional validity of the amendments to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on the ground that these infringed upon the fundamental rights of citizens.

The bill for amendments to the UAPA was passed by Parliament on August 2 and it received the President's ascent on August 9. The amended Act allows the Centre to designate individuals as terrorists and seize their properties.

New Delhi, Aug 22; GANASHAKTI: The Congress on Thursday lashed out at the government over the arrest of former finance minister P Chidambaram, accusing it of using the CBI and ED as a personal "revenge-seeking departments" and termed it as a broad daylight "murder" of democracy.

The senior Congress leader was arrested on Wednesday night by the CBI in the INX Media money laundering case and he spent the night in the agency's custody.

August 22, 2019; GANASHAKTI: Ahead of his visit to France, the UAE and Bahrain, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the engagements will strengthen India's relations with time-tested friends and help explore new areas of cooperation. Modi left for France at midday on Thursday.

Modi will visit the three countries from August 22 to 26. He will reach France on Thursday.

New Delhi, Aug 22; GANASHAKTI: Opposition parties, including the Congress, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the DMK, staged a protest at Jantar Mantar here on Thursday, demanding the release of the political leaders under detention in Jammu and Kashmir.

Congress leader P Chidambaram's son Karti also joined the protest. Chidambaram, a former Union finance minister, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday night in connection with a money-laundering case related to INX Media.

New Delhi, Aug 22; GANASHAKTI: Congress leader P Chidambaram, arrested by the CBI, was produced before a Delhi Court Thursday in the INX Media corruption case.

The hearing would take place before Special Judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar.

Soon after entering the courtroom, Chidambaram was seen having discussions with his party leaders and senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Vivek Tankha.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who will represent CBI in the case, is also present in the court.

New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) Ajay Kumar Bhalla, currently serving as an officer on special duty in the home ministry, was appointed as the new Union home secretary on Thursday, an official order said.

The Appointments Committee of the cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved Bhalla's appointment as the new home secretary. He replaces Rajiv Gauba, who was appointed as the new cabinet secretary on Wednesday.

Bhalla, a 1984-batch Assam-Meghalaya cadre IAS officer, served as the Union power secretary, before being appointed as an officer on special duty on July 24.