Daily Bulletin: JNU sedition case in court today; Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj begins; Modi to visit Kerala and Odisha; day's top stories

JNU sedition case in Delhi court today The Patiala House court in Delhi are likely to take cognisance on Tuesday of the Delhi Police chargesheet against former JNU students Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya and seven others. They have been charged with sedition. The Delhi Police filed the 1,200-page chargesheet on Monday, nearly three years after the students were accused of raising anti-India slogans at an event. Metropolitan Magistrate Sumit Anand put the chargesheet up for consideration before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) on Tuesday. It will be up to the CMM to take cognisance of the chargesheet, in what is known as the JNU sedition case. The maximum punishment for sedition is a life term. Kanhaiya, the former president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU), described the charge sheet as “politically motivated” and questioned its timing, just months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. The police claimed it has video clips to prove the offence that has been corroborated by witness statements, and that Kanhaiya was leading a procession and allegedly supported seditious slogans raised on the JNU campus in February 2016. [caption id=“attachment_5895671” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Kumbh Mela 2019 begins with Shahi Snan The Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj officially began on Tuesday with the first “Shahi Snan”. Nearly 12 crore devotees and tourists are expected to visit the 55-day event. ‘Shahi snan’ is the central highlight of the Kumbh Mela and the most important part of the celebration. It is only after its completion that people are allowed to take the holy dip. During the festival, devotees will take holy dips at the sacred confluence of the Ganga, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. There will be processions of seers and their disciples and members of various ‘akharas’ to take part in the ritual of the ‘shahi snan’, also known as ‘rajyogi snan’, at the start of the Kumbh. Narendra Modi to visit Kerala and Odisha today Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Kollam bypass, built at a cost of Rs 352 crore, in Kerala on Tuesday. The project will ease traffic congestion around Kollam town and reduce the travel time between Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation the 13-kilometre, two-lane Kollam bypass on NH-66 in Kerala on Tuesday. Constructed at a cost of Rs 352 crore, this highway has three major bridges over Ashtamudi Lake,” the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in a statement. Modi, during his visit to Bolangir in Western Odisha, is scheduled to launch several projects on infrastructure development, connectivity and ease of doing business. He will also dedicate Multi-Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) in Jharsuguda and new railway line to be inaugurated between Balangir and Bichupali. After attending the official programme, Modi is expected to address a public rally at Patharachepa ground in Bolangir at 11.45 am. Centre considering raising income tax exemption limit The government is mulling over increasing the tax exemption limit from Rs 2.5 lakh a year to Rs 5 lakh per annum  in the interim budget that is likely to be announced in February. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley may double the income tax exemption threshold for the salaried while also reinstating tax-free status for medical expenses and transport allowance, providing some relief to the section already under strain since demonetisation. However, the government is not likely to make indirect tax policy changes in vote-on accounts. “Although propriety demands that not too many policy changes should be made in a vote-on account Budget, the BJP government is apprehensive of the possibility of a middle-class backlash in the impending general elections,” an IANS report said. India look to bounce back in 2nd ODI against Australia After a disappointing start to the three-match ODI series against Australia in Sydney, India will look to bounce back in the second match at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday to remain in the series. Virat Kohli and company had lost the first ODI at the Sydney Cricket Ground by 34 runs, and the World No 2 side will be looking to regain dominance in the second match. Petrol crosses Rs 70 a litre again Petrol price breached the Rs 70 a litre mark and diesel crossed the Rs 64 mark on Monday after rates were hiked for the fifth consecutive day on rising input cost. Petrol price was raised by 38 paise per litre and diesel by 49 paise a litre, according to price notification issued by state-owned oil firms. In Delhi, petrol now costs Rs 70.13 a litre and diesel is priced at Rs 64.18. Besides being the fifth consecutive day of increase in rates, this is also the sixth hike this month. Rates on Sunday were increased by 49 paise per litre in case of petrol and 59 paise for diesel. In all, prices have gone up by Rs 1.84 a litre for petrol and by Rs 2.02 for diesel in the new year. In Mumbai, petrol costs Rs 75.77 a litre and diesel is priced at Rs 67.18. SONY/RCA records put R Kelly’s music on hold Amidst sexual assault allegations against singer R Kelly, the label RCA/Sony has decided to not put anymore money behind his projects. The 52-year-old singer-songwriter has two more albums on his contract with the label, but RCA/Sony has put his songs on hold until the criminal investigations are completed, Daily Mail reported. The singer is accused of running an ‘abusive cult’ in the Lifetime documentary ‘Surviving R Kelly’, which claims he preyed on dozens of young women. Honor 10 Lite to launch in India Honor 10 Lite, which was unveiled in China last November, will launch in India on Tuesday at 11.30 am. The phone features a full HD plus notched display, a gradient design, a 24 MP front-facing camera and a Kirin 710 chipset. In India, the Honor 10 Lite will be available exclusively on Flipkart and is expected to be priced at around Rs 15,000.