Highlights: HC rejects CM Kejriwal's bail plea, next hearing on April 3

Latest news updates: Catch all the news updates from around the world here

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to interfere with the arrest of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering case linked to the excise policy 'scam'. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma issued notice on the AAP leader's petition challenging his arrest and the subsequent remand to the ED's custody, and asked the agency to file its response to it as well as his plea for interim relief of release before April 2.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued show cause notices to BJP MP Dilip Ghosh and Congress leader Supriya Shrinate for their remarks against West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and BJP's Lok Sabha candidate Kangana Ranaut respectively.

The central government has summoned the acting Deputy Chief of Mission of US Embassy in New Delhi Gloria Berbena a day after Washington's remarks on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest. 

Sunita Kejriwal, the wife of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, on Wednesday asserted that he is a patriot, adding that  the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has not found any money linked to the alleged Delhi liquor policy 'scam'.

The Delhi High Court is hearing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's bail petition after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last week and a trial court's order that remanded him in the agency's custody for a week.

Members of the Delhi Assembly will congregate for the first time today since Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested in a case linked to the liquor policy case. Kejriwal has been sent to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate till March 28. Delhi's health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj had announced that a session of the Delhi Assembly will be held on Wednesday, hours after Kejriwal issued orders to him to address the shortage of medicines from jail.

A ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in US' Baltimore on Tuesday causing it to collapse into water, leaving at least six people dead. Manned entirely by an Indian crew, the container ship Dali momentarily lost power and crashed into the bridge.  Rescue operations have been called off. About 35,000 people used the bridge every day, a report by Bloomberg stated. The annual value of goods going over is about $28 billion, according to the American Trucking Associations. 

“We rely on our infrastructure systems for our daily needs, for a huge amount of the goods that we get in the United States from overseas and to have it cut off so suddenly, it’s a huge crisis,” Yonah Freemark, a researcher at the Urban Institute, was quoted as saying.

Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday stated the Centre will consider revoking the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Jammu and Kashmir. In an interview with the JK Media Group, Shah said: "We have plans to pull back troops and leave law and order to the Jammu and Kashmir Police alone. Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir police was not trusted but today they are leading the operations."

 

9:55 PM

If President's Rule imposed in Delhi, it would be clear case of political vendetta: Atishi

Delhi cabinet minister Atishi on Wednesday said if President's Rule is imposed in the national capital in the aftermath of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest, it would be a clear case of "political vendetta". The Delhi government will not be run from jail, Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena said on Wednesday in the backdrop of statements by AAP leaders that Arvind Kejriwal will continue as chief minister even if he is behind bars. Responding to Saxena's statement, Atishi, in an interview with PTI, cited The Representation of the People Act that disqualifies a lawmaker if he/she is convicted.

8:55 PM

Normalcy in ties with China will only be achieved based on traditional deployment of troops: Jaishankar

Normalcy in bilateral ties with China will only be achieved based on the traditional deployment of troops and that will be the prerequisite for the relationship going forward with Beijing, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday. "My first duty to Indians is to secure the border. I can never compromise on that," Jaishankar said while responding to a question on the current state of India's relations with China during his interaction with the Indian diaspora here in the Malaysian capital. He said every country wants "good relations with its neighbours. Who doesn't? But every relationship has to be founded on some basis."

8:53 PM

ED summons AAP's Goa chief, leaders in Delhi excise policy-linked money-laundering case

The ED has summoned Amit Palekar, the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Goa unit chief, and some other party leaders from the coastal state for questioning in a money-laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy on March 28, official sources said on Wednesday. The AAP leaders have been asked to depose at the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) office in Goa's Panjim on Thursday, the sources said. Palekar, who was the AAP's chief ministerial face during the February 2022 Goa Assembly polls, had recently said there was no evidence to prove that any illicit money was sent to the state, asserting that he and his party colleagues were ready to face any inquiry.

7:44 PM

Lok Sabha polls: BJP fields Navneet Rana from Amravati seat in Maharashtra

The BJP on Wednesday fielded independent Lok Sabha member Navneet Rana as its candidate from the Amravati parliamentary seat in Maharashtra. Rana had defeated Shiv Sena candidate and former Union minister Anandrao Adsul from Amravati in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Former Karnataka deputy chief minister Govind Karjol has been fielded from the Chitradurga Lok Sabha seat, the BJP said here. BJP leader A Narayanaswamy had won the Chitradurga parliamentary seat in the 2019 general election.

6:31 PM

ED files money-laundering case against Kerala CM's daughter Veena Vijayan, her IT firm

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a money-laundering case to probe charges that a Kochi-based private firm made illegal payments to an IT company owned by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter Veena Vijayan and some others, official sources said on Wednesday. The federal agency has registered the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and is expected to summon the alleged beneficiaries of these funds and others involved, the sources said.

5:59 PM

Delhi govt will not be run from jail, says Lt Governor VK Saxena; takes a dig at AAP dispensation

The Delhi government will not be run from jail, Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena said on Wednesday in the backdrop of statements by AAP leaders that Arvind Kejriwal will continue as chief minister even if he is behind bars. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case and subsequently remanded in the agency's custody till March 28 by a court here. AAP leaders on several occasions ruled out Kejriwal's resignation, insisting that he will run his government from inside the jail.

5:39 PM

LS polls: AAP leaders Jalandhar MP Sushil Kumar Rinku, MLA Sheetal Angural join BJP

In a setback to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, its Member of Parliament from Jalandhar, Sushil Kumar Rinku and Jalandhar West MLA Sheetal Angural joined the BJP on Wednesday. Welcoming the two legislators to the BJP, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the BJP is the largest political party in the world and people from different walks of life are joining it.

5:01 PM

Ukraine foreign minister to arrive in India tomorrow on two-day official visit

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, will reach New Delhi on 28 March 2024 for a two-day official visit at the invitation of the External Affairs Minister, MEA stated on Wednesday.

4:46 PM

Rameshwaram Cafe blast: NIA conducts raids in Bengaluru and Shivamogga

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) today raided various places, including Bengaluru and Shivamogga. According to media reports,  the ongoing raids are in connection with the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe on March 1.

 

4:24 PM

News update: ECI issues notice to Ghosh, Shrinate over 'undignified' remarks

The poll body has issued show cause notices to BJP MP Dilip Ghosh and Congress leader Supriya Shrinate for their remarks against West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and BJP's Lok Sabha candidate Kangana Ranaut respectively.

4:21 PM

Working to ensure money looted from poor in Bengal, attached by ED returned to them: PM Modi

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated today that he is working to ensure that nearly Rs 3,000 crore "looted" from poor people in West Bengal and attached by the Enforcement Directorate is returned to them. PM Modi made this claim in a telephonic conversation with Amrita Roy, a member of erstwhile royalty and BJP candidate against TMC's Mahua Moitra in Krishnanagar Lok Sabha constituency.

3:10 PM

ED registers case against Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter

Probe agency Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a money laundering case against Kerala CM's daughter Veena, IT firm owned by her, others in 'illegal' payments case.

2:52 PM

Blast in J-K's Poonch: Two suspects detained for questioning

Two suspects were detained in connection with a blast in the vicinity of a hospital in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district. We have received information of a suspected small intensity explosion-like sound from an area near Poonch hospital. Necessary investigation into the matter has been set into motion to ascertain the exact nature of the blast, a police spokesman said.

2:46 PM

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's health has deteriorated in ED custody: Report

The blood sugar level of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is diabetic, is wavering and his health has deteriorated in Enforcement Directorate custody, AAP sources claimed on Wednesday. Arvind Kejriwal's blood sugar level dropped to 46 Mg at one point of time and according to doctors, such a drop is "very dangerous", they claimed. Earlier in the day, the chief minister's wife Sunita Kejriwal said in a digital briefing that she had met him in ED custody and his sugar level was fluctuating.

2:23 PM

Enforcement Directorate searches residence of Firozepur Deputy Commissioner Rajesh Dhiman