New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking guidelines for lower courts to consider imposing higher fines in order to better achieve the punitive and deterrent objectives of criminal law.As per the plea, fines prescribed under criminal sections are grossly inadequate in achieving their goals in the present scenario due to the significant depreciation of the rupee over the last many decades.The PIL said that the Motor Vehicles Act ha…

New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) For much of today’s Kashmir, the name Raj Begum barely rings a bell. To millions across India, she is a stranger, her legacy buried under 35 years of Pakistan-sponsored terror turmoil. Even in the land of her birth, where her voice once soared above the valley’s meadows and streams, time and violence have obscured her memory. Yet, for those who lived in Kashmir before the dark clouds of terrorism gathered in 1989, Raj Begum was a household name — an artist, a symbol of …

New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Sunday unveiled the party’s plans to contest the upcoming Assembly elections in Bihar and announced that it will fight the polls independently. The announcement comes after multiple rounds of intensive discussions and deliberations about the party’s election events, outreach programmes and also finalisation of the election in-charges, the BSP chief said.The party’s national coordinator Akash Anand, central coordinator and Raj…

Bhubaneshwar, Aug 31 (IANS) Odisha’s canoeing player Rashmita Sahoo received a special mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat, after which she expressed her joy and said she is determined to win a medal for India in the upcoming Asian Games.Rashmita, who currently serves as a constable in Odisha Police, is training at the Jagatpur Institute of the National Centre of Excellence in Odisha.She recently bagged a medal at the Khelo India Water Sports Festival a…

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 31 (IANS) The Kerala unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded that the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) withdraw its earlier stand in the Supreme Court supporting women’s entry into the Sabarimala temple, ahead of the proposed global Ayyappa devotees’ convention. State BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar in a statement said on Sunday that the board’s past actions, carried out under the directions of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government, betrayed the trust…

New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday announced that only one day remains for filing claims and objections on the draft electoral roll of 7.24 crore electors in Bihar, as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2025.The draft roll, published on August 1, is undergoing scrutiny through claims submitted by political parties, electors, and Booth Level Agents (BLAs). According to the Commission’s daily bulletin (1st-31st August), a total of 1,60,813…

Hyderabad, Aug 31 (IANS) Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, said on Sunday that the Hyderabad Liberation Day will be celebrated in a grand manner on September 17. Union Minister Bandi Sanjay and Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy, through their posts on social media platform X, reacted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ speech during which he recalled the courage shown by armed forces during Operation Polo to liberate the erstwhile Hy…

Hyderabad, Aug 31 (IANS) Congress leader and former Indian cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin may be inducted in the Telangana Cabinet following the decision to nominate him as a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) under the Governor’s quota.The Cabinet’s decision came as a surprise, as only a few weeks ago, Azharuddin had declared himself as the Congress candidate for the upcoming by-election to the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency.After the defeat in the 2023 elections from his home …

Chandigarh, Aug 31 (IANS) With the government extending holidays in all schools till September 3, Punjab Revenue Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian on Sunday said 14,936 people have been evacuated to safer places from flood-affected areas in the state.Additionally, 122 relief camps are operational, providing shelter to 6,582 affected individuals, with 1,312 villages impacted by the floods. He said that the entire state machinery, along with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), SDRF, the Army…

Guwahati, Aug 31 (IANS) The Assam Congress on Sunday announced its first list of candidates for the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections, scheduled for September 22, declaring nominees for 31 of the 40 constituencies. The names were released late on August 30, with the party fielding candidates across different areas of the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).Some of the key nominees include Ranchana Basumatary, Rananjay Narzary, Kwrwm Mushahry, Sahar Ali, Dwimu Roje, Matilal Basumatary, S…