Regular trial for former minister Mahipal Maderna, suspended MLA Malkhan Singh and 14 others, accused in Bhanwari Devi kidnapping and murder case, shifted to SC/ST court in Jodhpur. The CBI received a jolt when Bhanwari’s husband Amarchand decided to backtrack from his statement recorded under Section 164 of the CrPc. The Election Commission, however, clarified that both the legislators will not be able to cast their vote in Rajya Sabha elections to be held on March 30 in Rajasthan.
Maderna and Malkhan, along with other accused, were produced on Tuesday before a CBI special court in Jodhpur, where the court transferred the case to the SC/ST court for regular hearing. The court posted the matter for March 27 for the next hearing. Meanwhile, Amarchand filed an application before the court and said his earlier statement recorded under Section 164 was given under pressure. His lawyers contended that he wanted to retract from his statement. He is the fifth person retracting from the statements given under Section 164 in Bhanwari Devi case.

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‘MUST PROVIDE’ CLAUSE FOR CABLE OPERATORS
Age Correspondent
NEW DELHI, MARCH 13

With digitalisation of the cable sector in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata set for June 30, Union information and broadcasting ministry is planning to implement a “must provide clause” for cable operators. This clause will ensure that TV viewers in the four metro cities be able to demand their favourite channels as a right.
Official sources in the I&B ministry stated this will be possible due to the digital technology. Presently cable transmission is done through analog cables that carry a limited number of channels and don’t allow for channel selection. “The digital technology will allow local cable operator to provide the consumer with selected channels,” sources added.

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Pragya Thakur put in judicial custody
AGE CORRESPONDENT
BHOPAL, March 13

The Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, was on Tuesday remanded to judicial custody by the special NIA court here in the RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi murder case.
Joshi, who was an accused in the Ajmer blast case, was murdered at Dewas in December 2007. The hearing in this case was transferred from Dewas to Bhopal by an order of the Jabalpur high court. Sadhvi Pragya was formally arrested in this case last year on February 25 by Madhya Pradesh police while she was in hospital under Mumbai police custody.

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HC: grant permanent commission TO 3 WOMEN
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, MARCH 13

The Delhi high court on Tuesday asked the Central government to grant permanent commission to three women officers, on short service commission with IAF, within six weeks.
Allowing a joint contempt plea by wing commander Rekha Singh and squardon leaders Seema Nandan and Seema Dahiya against the government for non compliance of the court’s previous order, Justice Vipin Sanghi directed the defence ministry to grant permanent commission them in six weeks on the basis of government’s November 2010 policy. The counsel for the petitioners told the court that a division bench had directed the government on March 12, 2010 to frame a policy.