Enumeration of castes in the ongoing Census process may now become a reality as the Group of Ministers (GoM) on the issue, headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, has given its assent.

Union home minister P. Chidambaram has said that charges against the absconding former head of the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) Warren Anderson were not diluted and even lauded the CBI for being steadfast in its endeavour to seek his extradition. He also said that the curative petition in the case is almost ready to be filed.

In an unusual judgement, the Delhi high court on Wednesday, in a specific case, said that the marriage between two minors is “valid” and it can be annulled only on the plea by one of the partners. After hearing a petition filed by 18-year-old minor boy (according to Hindu Marriage Act), Jitendra Kumar Sharma, who tied knot with a 16-year-

Union home minister P. Chidambaram lashed out at the BJP in the alleged Sohrabuddin fake encounter case stating that the decision to transfer the probe from the Gujarat CID to the CBI was taken by the Supreme Court.

The Delhi government has specified the court of additional sessions judge as children’s court for dispensing justice to the child victims of various offences and bringing to book the violators of child rights. The moves comes five years after the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005, was passed and required the state to specify a particular court that would be treated as children court.

The arrest of the People’s Democratic Party leader, Mr Abdul Nasser Madani, in connection with the Bengaluru serial blasts is likely to be delayed further because of the two-day visit of the President, Ms Pratibha Patil, to Kerala from Thursday.

Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit went around town along with the entire entourage of her officers on Wednesday to inspect the progress in connection with the Commonwealth Games-2010. The Delhi government has, meanwhile, come up with a new deadline for stopping of road cutting — August 20.

The CBI is unlikely to submit any further status report in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case immediately as the apex court is set to take up the contentious matter on Thursday.

Four alleged militants belonging to a Manipuri extremist outfit have been arrested by the special cell of the Delhi police. The accused were remanded to two-day police custody by a city court here.

The mystical vision of a “Thapaswini has taken visible shape as a breathtaking 91-feet tall marble lotus at Santhigiri Ashram on the outskirts of the state capital.
The lotus-shaped structure, which has been named Parnasala, will be formally unveiled by the President, Ms Pratibha Patil, on Friday.