Gowda accuses apex court judge of bias, forces him to abandon lawsuit

NEW DELHI - A senior Supreme Court judge quit hearing a lawsuit on construction of the Bangalore-Mysore Expressway Monday after former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda accused him of bias in favour of the promoters.

Amarinder Singh questioned by vigilance team

PATIALA - Former Punjab chief minister and senior Congress leader Amarinder Singh was Sunday questioned by state vigilance department officials at his private palace in this Punjab town, 80 km from Chandigarh.

Gujarat minister accused in Naroda Gam riots gets bail

AHMEDABAD - A local court Thursday evening granted anticipatory bail to Gujarat Education Minister Mayaben Kodnani, who has been accused of inciting mobs in the Naroda Gam and Naroda Patiya areas during the 2002 riots.

Apex court allows Sanjay Dutt to extend visit abroad

NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court Thursday permitted Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt to extend his visit abroad by two weeks.

Tamil Nadu government terms as ‘illegal’ pro-LTTE shutdown

CHENNAI - The Tamil Nadu government Sunday termed ‘illegal’ the Feb 4 shutdown called by the ‘Lankan Tamils Protection Movement’ (LTPM) and warned it of stern action if the agitation affected the movement of essential commodities and services.

Karnataka BJP legislator held while taking bribe, suspended from party

BANGALORE/NEW DELHI - A legislator of Karnataka’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was Thursday caught taking a bribe of Rs.500,000 to close a criminal case, an official of the state ombudsman said.

Two in three American give thumbs up to Obama

WASHINGTON - Two in three Americans approve the way President Barack Obama is doing his job in his first days in office - better than George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, but a tad shy of John F. Kennedy.

Apex court refuses to ban release of ‘Deshdrohi’ in Maharashtra

NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court Thursday refused to ban the release of Bhojpuri film ‘Deshdrohi’, which allegedly depicts Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray’s stand against north Indians, in Maharashtra.

Obama names Indian-American lawyer Preeta Bansal to key post

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama has appointed a leading Indian-American lawyer Preeta Bansal as General Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor at the Office of Management (OMB) and Budget at the White House.

Government asked to resolve row over Union Carbide waste disposal

NEW DELHI - More than 24 years after the Bhopal gas tragedy killed thousands and left thousands of others maimed for life, the toxic wastes lying at the Union Carbide plant are causing trouble between two states - Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

Raza’s foundation plans legal action against forgers

NEW DELHI - S.H. Raza, one of the great masters of Indian modern art, is contemplating legal action after he discovered 30 fake paintings bearing his name and forged signature on show at the Delhi-based Dhoomimal Gallery, one of the country’s oldest.

3,000 village courts to start within a month: Law minister

NEW DELHI - Law Minister H.R. Bhardwaj Saturday said around 3,000 village courts will start functioning within a month, meeting the United Progressive Alliance government’s promise to take the justice delivery system to the doorsteps of people in remote villages across the country.

Obama will be fair to India, Pakistan, says his Harvard classmate

NEW DELHI - US president-elect Barack Obama ‘will be fair to both India and Pakistan, without sacrificing American strategic interests’, says an Indian who studied with him at the Harvard Law School.

Apex court allows Sanjay Dutt to travel to US

NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court Wednesday granted permission to Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt to travel to New York to attend a conference there in his capacity as a United Nations goodwill ambassador.

Criminal law expert Tahilyani to conduct Mumbai attacks’ trial

MUMBAI - Noted criminal expert M.L. Tahilyani has been appointed to try Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist nabbed alive during the Mumbai terror attacks, a law department official said here Tuesday.

Bids received for towed, light howitzers; trials in February

NEW DELHI - In a development that would push the Indian Army’s decade-old modernization plan of its artillery, overseas vendors have submitted bids for 180 155mm/52 caliber towed and light howitzers and the trials are expected to commence in February or March, a senior official said Tuesday.

If Sanjay Dutt cannot contest, we will request Manyata: Amar Singh

NEW DELHI - If Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt is not qualified to contest the Lok Sabha elections, his wife Manyata could be the Samajwadi Party candidate from Lucknow in his place, party general secretary Amar Singh said here Saturday.

Sanjay Dutt to be Samajwadi candidate from Lucknow

NEW DELHI - Sanjay Dutt Thursday became the latest Bollywood actor to dabble in politics with the Samajwadi Party announcing that he would be its candidate from the Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency.

Karunanidhi thanks PM for Rs.16 bn Chennai Expressway

CHENNAI - Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on the sidelines of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Thursday thanked the prime minister for the Rs.16 billion (Rs.1,600 crore) Chennai Expressway which is being funded mostly by the central government.

Mixed response to Kerala’s law reforms commission’s suggestions

KOCHI - There has been a mixed response in Kerala to the suggestions made by the law reforms commission, which will submit its report later this month. Among other reforms, the commission has asked for a change in the marriage customs practiced by the Muslim community and appointment of non-Brahmins as temple priests.

Row stops worship at Nepal’s Pashupatinath temple

KATHMANDU - For the first time in the history of Nepal’s revered Pashupatinath temple, devotees were unable to offer worship to the centuries-old deity after a row erupted between the trust that looks after the shrine and the priests, marking an inauspicious start to the New Year.

Priests, nun accused in Abhaya murder case given bail

KOCHI - The Kerala High Court Thursday freed on bail two priests and a nun, who are the accused in the sensational Sister Abhaya murder case.

2008 a year of turbulence, strife for Pakistan (Yearender-9)

ISLAMABAD - The year set to end was one of turbulence for Pakistan, with a virtual war between Islamist militants and the government taking a huge toll and inviting comparisons with failed states.

Modi advocates tough stance on terrorism

GANDHINAGAR - Terming the Mumbai terrorist attacks as an ‘undeclared war on India’, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday urged the Manmohan Singh government to harden its stance towards pakistan.

Abraham Lincoln’s Bible to come out of archives for Obama

WASHINGTON - The historic Bible that Abraham Lincoln took oath on in 1861 when he became the 16th US president will be taken out of the Library of Congress for the first since then when Barack Obama is sworn in as the country’s 44th president on Jan 20.

Obama to take oath on Lincoln’s Bible

WASHINGTON - US president-elect Barack Obama will be sworn into office with the same Bible that Abraham Lincoln used for his oath taking ceremony in 1861.