Molested and humiliated by classmate, Muslim BDS student jumps to death from 4th floor

Dubai, June 8: An earthquake of magnitude 2.1 was detected in the UAE's Al Fayy area late Wednesday night, according to an advisory released by the National Centre Meteorology (NCM).

The minor tremor was recorded at 11.29pm in the UAE-Oman border, the authority added.

Experts had earlier said that UAE residents have no reason to worry about earthquakes.

"The UAE has low to moderate seismicity; hence we are safe. We are not on the active seismic belt," Khalifa Al Ebri, director of Department of Seismology, NCM, had said.

"We have frequent tremors ranging from two to three in a year. People do not feel most of these tremors and they are just detected by the sensors. All these tremors do not affect the buildings or the infrastructure (in the country)."

New Delhi, June 2: The Law Commission of India has recommended enhancing the jail term in sedition cases from a minimum of three years to seven years, contending that it would allow courts greater room to award punishment in accordance with the scale and gravity of the act committed.

In a report on the 'Usage of the Law of Sedition', the Commission said its earlier report had termed the punishment for Section 124A (law of sedition) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) "very odd" as it has provisions for either life imprisonment or a three-year jail term, but nothing in between.

The minimum punishment under the sedition law is paying fine.

"A comparison of the sentences as provided for offences in Chapter VI of the IPC suggests that there is a glaring disparity in the punishment prescribed for Section 124A," the Commission said.

Chapter VI of the IPC deals with offences against the state.

"It is, therefore, suggested that the provision be revised to bring it in consonance with the scheme of punishment provided for other offences under Chapter VI. This would allow the courts greater room to award punishment for a case of sedition in accordance with the scale and gravity of the act committed," the report said.

The Commission also suggested changes to the phrasing of Section 124A and added words "a tendency to incite violence or cause public disorder".

The current Section 124A of IPC reads as follows: "Sedition-Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law in lndia, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine."

However, the law commission has now recommended to alter the Section as: "Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law in lndia, with a tendency to incite violence or cause public disorder shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, to which fine may be added, or with fine."

The Commission said the expression 'tendency' would mean mere inclination to incite violence or cause public disorder rather than proof of actual violence or imminent threat to violence.

Law commission chairman Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi (retd) had recently submitted the report to Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.

Bengaluru, June 9: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will don the role of a bus conductor on June 11 and launch the ‘Shakti’ scheme, which provides free travel to women in state-run buses. The scheme is one of the five guarantees promised by the Congress ahead of the assembly elections. 

According to sources, the CM will travel in a BMTC bus and issue free tickets to women passengers to mark the launch of the project in the state capital while ministers and legislators would flag off the services in their respective districts and constituency simultaneously.

A statement from the CM's office said Siddaramaiah has directed the district in-charge ministers along with the legislators to ensure that the Shakti scheme reaches “all the eligible beneficiaries, beyond all caste, religion and class”. “All the district ministers shall swing into action to make the launch of the scheme meaningful,” Siddaramaiah was quoted as saying in the statement.

The Shakti scheme has brought relief to the women of the state, who were in distress due to price hike and inflation, he said. “The State government is implementing all guarantee schemes within a month of coming to power, despite the fact that it requires huge fund mobilisation,” it added.