Daily Bulletin: SC to hear pleas against abrogation of Article 370; Toll rises to 11 in AP boat accident; day's top stories

SC to hear pleas against abrogation of Article 370 provisions, curbs in Jammu and Kashmir today The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday pleas challenging abrogation of provisions of Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, validity of imposition of President’s rule and the related restrictions imposed in the state. A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices SA Bobde and S Abdul Nazeer will be also hearing a bunch fresh petitions, including the one filed by former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad seeking permission to visit his family members and relatives. Azad, who had tried to visit the state twice after the abrogation of Article 370 provisions in Jammu and Kashmir but was sent back from the airport by the authorities, has sought a nod from the top court to visit his family members. Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference party led by Sajjad Lone has also challenged the abrogation of provisions of Article 370 and the validity of the state Re-organization Bill. Child right activists Enakshi Ganguly and Professor Shanta Sinha have also filed a plea against the alleged illegal detention of children in Jammu and Kashmir since the revocation of special status. A plea of Rajya Sabha MP and MDMK founder Vaiko is also listed for hearing, in which he has sought a direction to the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir to produce former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, allegedly under detention following the abrogation of Article 370, before the court. Eleven dead, 21 rescued in Andhra Pradesh after boat capsized on Sunday, rescue operations to resume today As many as 21 people have been rescued from the tourist boat which capsized on Godavari river near Devipatnam in East Godavari district on Sunday, authorities have said. Indian Navy officials said that rescue operations will resume on Monday, after it was called off due to low-light conditions. [caption id=“attachment_7343901” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Rescue officials near the site of the boat capsize in the Godavari river in Andhra Pradesh. Twitter/@ANI[/caption] Out of the 21 people rescued, 15 are from Andhra Pradesh and the remaining seven from Hyderabad in Telangana. Earlier today, the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) had informed that 11 people lost their lives when the boat ferrying 61 persons on board capsized in the river. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy among others condoled the demise of people in the tragic incident. Chief Minister Reddy has announced Rs 10 lakh ex-gratia for the bereaved families and asked for a complete report on the incident. All the boating services in the region have been suspended. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan expressed grief over the boat accident and spoke to Chief Secretary LV Subrahmanyam over the phone and enquired about the incident and relief operations. Ayodhya dispute: Supreme Court to hear petition seeking live streaming of proceedings today The Supreme Court will hear on a petition seeking live-streaming of the proceedings in Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case on Monday. The petition, filed by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue KN Govindacharya, was mentioned before a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi by former additional solicitor general (ASG) Vikas Singh. The constitution bench, also comprising Justice SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and SA Abdul Naseer, is conducting a day-to-day hearing in the Ayodhya title dispute case after the mediation panel failed to achieve an amicable settlement. The apex court is hearing appeals against a 30 September 2010 verdict of the Allahabad High Court in the case. The High Court in its verdict had ordered equal division of 2.77-acre disputed land in Ayodhya among the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla. The 16th-century Babri Masjid was demolished on 6 December 1992. IMD issues heavy rain alert in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh; 13,000 evacuated from Mandsaur, Neemuch after downpour hits districts At least seven states are likely to experience heavy rainfall and thundershowers on Monday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted. Among these states, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have been facing a flood-like situation since Saturday, reports said. More than 16,000 people from Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur and Neemuch districts were shifted to safer places on Sunday after heavy rainfall caused water-logging in several areas, while parts of Pratapgarh district in Rajasthan faced a flood-like situation due to a rise in the water-level of the Jakham and Mahi rivers following incessant rains. Skymet also predicted ‘heavy’ rains and thundershowers at isolated places in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, WestBengal, Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, North Konkan Coast, and Northern Bay Islands. “Widespread to widespread rainfall with heavy rainfall at isolated places very likely over East Rajasthan, West Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat Region during next 24 hours,” the IMD also said on Saturday in its All India Weather Warning Bulletin. Air India Assets Holdings to issue first tranche of bonds worth Rs 7,000 cr today Air India Assets Holdings Ltd (AIAHL) will issue bonds worth Rs 22,000 crore in the coming weeks, with the first tranche worth Rs 7,000 crore set to hit the market on today (16 September), according to a senior official. AIAHL — a special purpose vehicle of national carrier — is planning to raise the amount by issuing bonds with different tenures. These bonds would have a tenure of three years and three months. Banks and mutual funds are expected to participate in the first tranche of the bond offering, the official added. AIAHL would issue 10-year bonds worth Rs 15,000 crore in the coming weeks. As part of efforts to clean up the balance sheet of Air India, which has a debt burden of more than Rs 58,000 crore, little over half of the amount is to be repaid by way of proceeds from the issuance of bonds by AIAHL. The proceeds from the bond offering would be used to repay Air India’s debt, the official said. As the debt-laden national carrier is set for disinvestment, NCDs worth little over Rs 7,400 crore in the name of Air India would be novated to AIAHL. While it will be the first time that AIAHL will be issuing bonds, Air India has issued bonds on earlier occasions and the last such issue was worth around Rs 7,400 crore done in 2012.​ India-South Africa 1st T20I washed out without a ball bowled Rain played spoilsport in the first T20I between India and South Africa at Dharamsala’s HPCA Stadium as the match got washed out due to wet conditions without even the toss taking place. The action now moves to Mohali, where the two sides lock horns at the PCA Stadium on Wednesday, 18 September.