Daily Bulletin: Odd-Even scheme in National Capital to end today; Delhi HC to hear petitions seeking framing of Uniform Civil Code; day's top stories

Odd-Even to end today: Supreme Court to hear petition challenging scheme today

No decision was taken on Thursday on extending the Odd-Even road rationing scheme, which enters its final day on Friday. The anti-pollution measure kicked in on 4 November and is scheduled to end on 15 November, if not extended by the Delhi government.

"A final decision about extending the odd-even rule could be taken on Friday, depending on the situation of air pollution and outcome of a hearing pertaining to the scheme in the Supreme Court," a Delhi government functionary said.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Delhi government on a plea challenging the odd-even road rationing scheme in the National Capital. A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta also directed the Delhi government and the Central Pollution Control Board or CPCB to place before it the data of pollution in Delhi from October till 14 November this year.

The bench also directed them to submit pollution data from 1 October to 31 December 2018.

The petition, filed by a Noida-based advocate, has alleged that the Delhi government's 1 November notification on the scheme also violates fundamental rights.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier said the odd-even restrictions could be extended if required.

A file image of challan being issued for non-compliance of the Odd-Even rule. Firstpost.

Under the rule, non-transport vehicles having odd and even last digits of registration number ply on odd and even dates, respectively.

Delhi High Court to hear four petitions seeking framing of Uniform Civil Code

The Delhi High Court had clubbed together all petitions seeking framing of a uniform civil code (UCC), as provided for under Article 44 of the Constitution, to promote national integration as well as gender justice, equality and dignity of women.

A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar decided to hear the four petitions, which are seeking UCC, on 15 November.

The first plea seeking a uniform civil code was moved by BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay in May this year. Subsequently, a similar plea was moved by another lawyer in August.

Thereafter, a third plea was moved by Firoz Bakht Ahmed, the chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University and the grandnephew of first education minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, in October. The fourth PIL for drafting a UCC was moved by Amber Zaidi, who claims in her plea to be a social activist and media personality.

All the four petitions have sought directions to the Centre to constitute a judicial commission or a high-level expert committee to draft the UCC within three months, while considering the best practices of all religions and sects, civil laws of developed countries and international conventions.

Ajay Kumar Bhalla to appear before Parliamentary panel to discuss J&K, Ladakh situation

Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla will appear before the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs, headed by Congress leader Anand Sharma, at around 11:30 am on Friday in Parliament Library Building to discuss about the situation in Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh.

According to official communication, the agenda of the meeting would be to have a briefing by the Home Secretary on the situation in Union Territories of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.

The committee would seek details of the number of arrests and detained persons in Jammu & Kashmir since 5 August, after the abrogation of article 370 from the Union Territory which was then a state.

The committee is headed by Congress leader Anand Sharma, a Rajya Sabha member from Himachal Pradesh. There are nine other members from Rajya Sabha and 21 members from Lok Sabha. Out of these five are from West Bengal and the committee also has two members: Shamsher Singh Manhas from Rajya Sabha and Jamyang Tsering Namgyal from Lok Sabha - who are from Jammu and Kashmir.

The Government of India on 5 August abrogated article 370 and 35A. From 31 October, Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh were formally made Union Territories.

INX Media case: Delhi High Court to announce its order on bail plea of ex-FM P Chidambaram

The Delhi High Court on Friday is likely to pronounce its order on the bail plea of former Union minister P Chidambaram, who is lodged in Tihar Jail, in the INX Media money laundering case.
Justice Suresh Kait had reserved the order on 8 November on the bail petition after hearing the arguments of counsels for Chidambaram and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

While the 74-year-old senior Congress leader has sought bail saying as the evidence is documentary and in the custody of probe agencies, he cannot tamper them, the ED has opposed his plea on the ground that he has tried to influence and threaten witnesses.

Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, representing the ED, had contended that the set of evidence in the money laundering case and the CBI corruption case is different and the PMLA case is more heinous and "much, much, much more serious than it meets the eyes".

India head into Day 2 of Bangladesh Tet with time and momentum on their side

The first Test of India's two-match series against Bangladesh began extremely well for the hosts as they bowled out Bangladesh for a modest total of 150 runs. The only hint of resistance was put up by Mushfiqur Rahim, who scored 43 runs before being dismissed by Mohammed Shami. India also batted quite well, despite the loss of Rohit Sharma's wicket early on, scoring 86 runs thanks to a brilliant partnership between Cheteshwar Pujara and Mayank Agarwal. Heading into Day 2, the Indians are in a very promising position, and will be looking to reach a massive total. The match begins at 9.30 am.

Govt to create special finance scheme for 10 import-driven industries, says Nitin Gadkari

The government will create a special financial scheme for 10 industry segments which are import-driven. Union MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari said the government has created a scheme to support industries where imports are high by providing special financial assistance.

"We have identified 10 sectors which are largely import-driven. We have worked on a scheme to support these sectors to upgrade their R&D and skill development and training, among others," Gadkari said at an event late Thursday evening.

He said the intention was to reduce the dependence on imports and ensure indigenous development."We plan to create a special fund for providing financial assistance to these industries and ensure overall growth of our economy," Gadkari said. However, he did not elaborate on these 10 sectors.

Apple reportedly planning bundle including Music, News and TV

The Cupertino giant could be working on bringing a mega bundle of its internet services including Apple Music, Apple TV+ and News+. To get more subscribers on board, the company could launch this bundle as early as 2020. This effort is Apple's attempt at attracting subscribers similar to what Amazon's Prime service offers with multiple services in one single bundle.

Quentin Tarantino confirms plans for 10th film after Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Quentin Tarantino shared some details about his future projects, including his next directorial, at a BAFTA event in London on Wednesday night, reports Variety. He said that there had been a gap between finishing the writing of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and production of the film.

"So I finished Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, finished that script, put it aside, and then I wrote a play. And then I wrote a five-episode TV series. And right now I’m writing a book and I’m hoping that I’ll be finished in three months. So the idea will be hopefully by March maybe I’ll be finished with the book – and then, theoretically, maybe I’ll do the play, and then theoretically I’ll do the TV show, and then by that point I’ll be thinking maybe what I’ll do for the 10th movie," said the filmmaker.

With inputs from agencies