# India

Plea against Sasikala withdrawn from SC

The Supreme Court on Friday allowed withdrawal of a petition seeking to restrain AIADMK leader VK Sasikala from being sworn…

PTI | New Delhi | February 17, 2017 3:59 pm

The Supreme Court on Friday allowed withdrawal of a petition seeking to restrain AIADMK leader VK Sasikala from being sworn in as Tamil Nadu chief minister as it has become infructuous after her conviction in a graft case.

The apex court had on February 14 convicted Sasikala and her two relatives in the disproportionate assets case and had restored the trial court's order awarding four-year jail term to them. She is at present in jail.

After the apex court's judgment, Sasikala had surrendered in jail while AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami has become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

The matter came up today before a bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar which said the plea has become infructuous in wake of the development following the verdict.

Advocate G S Mani, who was representing Chennai-resident Senthil Kumar, General Secretary of NGO 'Satta Panchayat Iyakkam', sought the court's permission to withdraw the plea.

"Permission granted. The writ petition is dismissed as withdrawn," the bench said.

The PIL was filed on February 6 seeking a stay on the swearing-in of Sasikala as Tamil Nadu chief minister as there was speculation that she would be taking the oath as the CM the next day.

# India

‘Secular’ and ‘Socialist’ in preamble have a widespread acceptance of the “We the people”, SC

The court refused to undertake an “exhaustive examination” of the prayers challenging the insertion of ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ in the preamble of the constitution by the forty-second amendment to the constitution in 1976.

# India

‘Two Leaves’ symbol is AIADMK’s Brahmastra: Rajinikanth

Effusive in his praise for the late Chief Minister and matinee icon MG Ramachandran’s spouse, VN Janaki, South Indian superstar Rajinikanth on Sunday credited her with the unification of the AIADMK by renouncing politics and handing over the party to Jayalalithaa.

# Cities

SC directs Delhi govt, police to set up checkpoints at 113 entry points to combat toxic air

Expressing dissatisfaction with the steps taken to control and combat toxic air pollution in the national capital, the Supreme Court on Friday directed the Delhi government and police to immediately set up checkpoints at all 113 entry points to the city to monitor the entry of trucks carrying only essential supplies.