The Delhi high court has declared that a marriage between a Hindu and a person of another faith performed according to Hindu rites would not be valid under the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA) as it is a basic requirement of the HMA that both spouses be Hindus at the time of the solemnisation of the marriage as per Hindu customs.

The Centre has decided to lift the decades-old curbs on foreigners visiting Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram that made it mandatory for them to seek government permission.

The CBI probe into the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case has reportedly revealed that the three domestic helps, who were till now the prime suspects in the case, were not even present on the crime scene.

In a major security lapse, a “secret” file of the Indian Air Force on the ongoing `42,000-crore (over $11-billion) Medium Multi-role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) deal process went missing and was recovered. The IAF has ordered a court of inquiry.

Unhappy over the way the CBI closed the investigations into the Aarushi murder case, National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Girija Vyas on Friday said that she has written to the home ministry and the law ministry for asking the CBI to do further investigations.

Union law and justice minister M. Veerappa Moily on Friday called CBI director A.P Singh and discussed with him the possibility of reinvestigation into the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case. Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar also stated that she was “worried” about the recent developments in the case and sought justice for the victim.

Seven prominent personalities, six of whom had held high constitutional posts, in a fresh petition moved in the Supreme Court have sought cancellation of all 122 2G spectrum licences allotted by DoT under former telecom minister A. Raja while terming the notices issued to 69 allottees under the aegis of new minister Kapil Sibal an attempt to “obfuscate” the entire issue.

In a subtle message to the Opposition ranks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his New Year greetings on Friday, sought a “new beginning” in the year ahead. He also asked people to believe in the resilience of democracy and its capacity to deal with infirmities through course correction.

Senior BJP leader and Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Murli Manohar Joshi on Friday said he will take a decision on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s offer to appear before the committee in the 2G spectrum case after consulting legal experts. Dr Joshi, who met Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Friday, apparently discussed this issue and took her views on it.

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar’s attempt to break the logjam over the Opposition demand for a joint parliamentary probe (JPC) on the 2G spectrum allocation scam did not yield any result, with both the government and the Opposition sticking to their guns. The Speaker, on conclusion of the meeting, expressed the hope that the Budget Session would be hassle-free.