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Muzaffarpur shelter home case: SC summons Nageswara Rao for contempt, shifts trial to Delhi

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7 years ago

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Supreme Court

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Former interim CBI director M Nageswara Rao incurred the wrath of the Supreme Court for transferring CBI joint director AK Sharma, the lead investigating officer probing the Muzaffarpur shelter home rape and murder case, in violation of the court order.

Saying that M Nageswara Rao has committed contempt of court, the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi today (Thursday, Feb 7) directed him to appear before the court on February 12 to explain Sharma’s transfer. The court said it will initiate contempt proceedings against all CBI officials who were involved in transferring Sharma.

“We are going to take it very very seriously. You played with our order. God help you,” SC said when CBI counsel informed the court that two officials, including Nageswara Rao, were involved in transferring the officer.

AK Sharma was shifted out as part of the overnight mass transfer by Rao who had taken over as interim CBI chief when the Centre and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) divested Alok Verma of his responsibilities as the agency director on October 23. The very next day, Rao had issued transfer orders for a slew of officers known for their proximity to Verma and those who were, at the point, part of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) that was probing the CBI’s then special director Rakesh Asthana in graft cases.

Verma had rescinded these transfer orders during the two days that he returned as CBI director (on January 8 and 9) following his condition reinstatement by the Supreme Court. On January 10, when Verma was summarily sacked as CBI director by the selection panel mandated to appoint the agency’s chief, Rao returned as interim chief and re-issued the transfer orders.

The transfers were controversial to begin with as they appeared to be a move aimed at scuttling the probe against Asthana. Some of these transfers are already under challenge in the Supreme Court.

Today, SC directed Bashu Ram, who is in charge of Director Prosecution in CBI, also to appear before it. It directed CBI director to give a list of other officers who processed the file to transfer AK Sharma and directed all of them to appear before it on Tuesday.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1549600825023{border-top-width: 10px !important;border-right-width: 10px !important;border-bottom-width: 10px !important;border-left-width: 10px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #d1d1d1 !important;border-radius: 10px !important;}”]Earlier today, the court came down heavily on the Bihar government and ordered the case to be shunted out of Bihar to Delhi for “a free and fair trial”.

“Enough is enough. Children cannot be treated like this. You cannot let your officers to treat children this way. Spare the children,” the SC bench told the Bihar government.

The top court further ordered the trial to be shifted from Bihar to Saket district court in the capital, saying the trial should start within two weeks and be completed within six months.

“The transfer of trial in Muzaffarpur shelter home out of Bihar is needed to ensure free and fair trial in the case,” the court said.

Gogoi said:  “Enough is enough. We will ask Bihar Chief Secretary to appear before us. Get someone here who is conversed to what is happening in the state. You can’t let your officers to treat unfortunate children like this. Spare the children.”

The case pertains to alleged mental, physical and sexual exploitation of minor girls residing at a shelter home in Muzaffarpur. The Bihar government had referred the matter to the CBI after pressure from the Opposition.  In December last year, the CBI filed a chargesheet against all the accused under the POCSO Act.

The matter had come to light in 2018 when the Bihar Social Welfare Department filed an FIR based on a social audit of the shelter home conducted by Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences. The audit report stated that many girls at the shelter home had complained of sexual abuse.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Earlier today, while hearing a petition on the sexual exploitation of inmates of a shelter home in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, the Supreme Court was informed that the CBI officer leading the probe had been transferred, despite the Supreme Court-enforced embargo on transfer of any CBI sleuth who was part of the team investigating the shelter home case.

This enraged Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who pulled up the counsel for the CBI for apparent contempt of court orders and asked him who had authorized Sharma’s transfer. When informed that the transfer was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), the court sought to know whether information on the embargo on Sharma’s transfer was placed before the committee. The bench had given time to the CBI counsel till 2 pm to find out if the ACC had been informed of the embargo and if it was, why was Sharma still moved out.

At 2 pm, when the bench reconvened to hear the shelter home case, the Chief Justice noted that it appears that the ACC, which includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Rajnath Singh, was not informed of the embargo by Rao, the authority who recommended the transfer in his capacity as interim CBI director.

The bench has asked Rao and other CBI officers to be present in court on February 12 and directed the agency to identify officers who were involved in the transfer of Sharma.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Over 24 lakh voters dropped from Kerala draft electoral roll after special revision

The Election Commission has removed over 24 lakh names from Kerala’s draft voter lists after verification during the Special Intensive Revision process.

Published

4 hours ago

on

December 24, 2025

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kerala voters delete

Over 24.08 lakh electors have been removed from the draft voter lists in Kerala following the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, with the Election Commission publishing the updated draft electoral roll on Tuesday.

As per official data, Kerala has a total of 2,78,50,855 registered electors. Of these, 2,54,42,352 electors submitted their Enumeration Forms during the revision process, which concluded on December 18.

The poll body said the deletions were carried out after verification and were linked to multiple factors, including electors shifting to other states or Union Territories, voters found to be non-existent, individuals who did not submit enumeration forms within the stipulated time, and those who chose not to continue their registration.

Break-up of deleted names

According to the Election Commission, the deleted entries include 6,49,885 names of deceased voters, accounting for 2.33 per cent of the electorate. Another 14,61,769 voters, or 5.25 per cent, were removed after being found shifted or absent, while 1,36,029 voters, around 0.49 per cent, were deleted for being enrolled at multiple locations.

Claims and objections window open

Although the enumeration phase has ended, eligible citizens can still seek corrections. The Commission has opened a claims and objections period from December 23 to January 22, 2026, allowing applications for inclusion of eligible voters or removal of ineligible names from the rolls.

The final electoral roll for Kerala is scheduled to be published on February 21, 2026.

Awareness drives and field-level efforts

The Election Commission said extensive awareness campaigns were conducted across the state to ensure maximum participation. Senior election officials held regular meetings with political parties at the state, district and assembly constituency levels to explain the revision process and share progress updates.

Booth Level Officers (BLOs) carried out house-to-house visits to all electors listed as of October 27, distributing Enumeration Forms and making at least three follow-up visits for collection. Booth Level Agents were permitted to submit up to 50 forms per day to strengthen coordination at the grassroots level.

To support field staff, BLOs were assisted by Anganwadi workers, students from NCC, NSS and election literacy clubs, volunteers, revenue officials and social work students. The poll body said more than 93 per cent mapping of collected forms was achieved through repeated training sessions, video tutorials and doubt-clearing programmes.

Special initiatives during SIR

During the exercise, the Chief Electoral Officer of Kerala launched motivational and outreach initiatives aimed at supporting election staff managing the heavy workload of digitising voter data. District-level programmes were also rolled out to recognise and motivate BLOs and supervisors completing digitisation targets.

In areas with weak network connectivity, a community-based digitisation model was adopted, where BLOs collectively digitised forms from locations with better internet access. Special urban camps were organised across all wards of urban local bodies to ensure comprehensive coverage of city voters.

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India’s LVM3 Baahubali rocket launches heaviest satellite ever from Indian soil

India’s LVM3 ‘Baahubali’ rocket has successfully launched the heaviest satellite ever from Indian soil, placing the BlueBird 6 communication satellite into low Earth orbit.

Published

4 hours ago

on

December 24, 2025

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Bahubali Rocket

India has marked a major milestone in its space programme as the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3), popularly known as the ‘Baahubali’ rocket, successfully placed the heaviest-ever satellite launched from Indian soil into orbit on Wednesday.

The mission, LVM3-M6, lifted off from the second launch pad at the Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh, carrying BlueBird 6, a next-generation communication satellite developed by US-based company AST SpaceMobile.

Mission lifts off from Sriharikota

The 43.5-metre-tall LVM3 rocket, powered by two S200 solid strap-on boosters, took off at 8:55 am after the completion of a 24-hour countdown. The spaceport is located around 135 km east of Chennai.

After a flight lasting nearly 15 minutes, the BlueBird Block-2 satellite separated from the launch vehicle and was injected into its intended low Earth orbit at an altitude of about 520 km.

Confirming the success of the mission, ISRO Chairman and Secretary, Department of Space, Dr V Narayanan said the satellite had been placed “successfully and precisely” into the designated orbit.

Heaviest payload carried by an Indian launcher

According to ISRO, this mission marks the heaviest satellite ever launched from Indian soil using an Indian rocket. Dr Narayanan said the flight was also the third fully commercial mission of the LVM3.

He added that the mission demonstrated the strong performance record of the heavy-lift vehicle and highlighted its reliability in the global launch market.

Focus on space-based mobile broadband

BlueBird 6 is part of the BlueBird Block-2 series of communication satellites. These satellites are designed to provide space-based cellular broadband connectivity directly to standard mobile smartphones, without the need for any special hardware or equipment.

The aim of the technology is to enable broadband services straight from space, expanding connectivity to regions with limited or no terrestrial network coverage.

PM Modi calls launch a proud milestone

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the teams involved and described the launch as a significant achievement for India’s space sector.

In a statement, the Prime Minister said the successful placement of the US satellite into orbit strengthens India’s heavy-lift launch capability and reinforces the country’s growing role in the global commercial launch market.

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BJP raises seat offer to Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena to nearly 90 ahead of Mumbai civic polls, talks continue

The BJP has raised its seat offer to Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena to nearly 90 for the upcoming BMC elections, but fresh talks are needed as differences persist within the Mahayuti.

Published

19 hours ago

on

December 23, 2025

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With the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections drawing closer, the seat-sharing tussle within the Mahayuti alliance continues, with the BJP increasing its offer to Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena but failing to reach the party’s expectations.

According to sources, the BJP has now proposed close to 90 seats for the Shinde faction in the upcoming Mumbai civic polls. This is a significant jump from its earlier offer of 52 seats but still falls short of what Shinde is seeking. The Shiv Sena leader has reportedly reduced his demand from an initial 125 seats to 112, yet remains dissatisfied with the latest formula.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is expected to hold another round of discussions with Shinde to break the deadlock. Sources indicate that the BJP is unlikely to stretch its offer much further, especially after its strong showing in recent statewide local body elections.

BJP firm after strong local poll performance

The BJP has emerged as the single largest party in the recent local polls, securing 117 municipal president posts. In comparison, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena won 53 posts, while Ajit Pawar’s faction of the NCP secured 37. These results have strengthened the BJP’s negotiating position ahead of the BMC elections.

However, the current seat-sharing calculations could change if Ajit Pawar decides to contest the Mumbai civic polls as part of the alliance. Senior NCP leader Sunil Tatkare confirmed that no final decision has been taken yet, noting that discussions with alliance partners are ongoing.

Nawab Malik factor complicates alliance talks

A major point of contention within the Mahayuti is the issue of senior NCP leader Nawab Malik, who is facing multiple corruption cases, including a money laundering case linked to underworld activities. While the alliance has made it clear that Malik is unacceptable as part of its Mumbai setup, Ajit Pawar is reportedly firm on backing him.

Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam has publicly stated that the party would not align with any group that includes Malik. Sources added that if the NCP joins the alliance in Mumbai, it may be asked to project a different leader and contest a limited number of seats.

BMC elections timeline

The countdown to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections has already begun, with less than a month left for polling. Voting is scheduled for January 15, with counting set to take place the following day. A total of 2,869 municipal seats will be contested, including 227 seats in the BMC.

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