DH Evening Brief: SC notice to Centre on same sex marriage plea; CBI files first charge sheet in Delhi excise policy case

Here are the top stories this evening.

SC notice to Centre, A-G on plea for recognising marriage between same sex couple

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Union government and the Attorney General on two petitions seeking a direction to recognise same-sex marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli sought a response from the Centre and A-G R Venkataramani within four weeks on the issue related to recognition of alliance between LGBTQ+ community members.

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CBI files first charge sheet in Delhi excise policy case

The CBI on Friday filed its first charge sheet against seven accused, including two arrested businessmen, in the Delhi Excise policy scam case, officials said.Besides the two arrested businessmen, those named in the charge sheet include the head of a news channel, a Hyderabad-based liquor businessman, a Delhi-based liquor distributor and two officials of the excise department, they said.

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'Pakistan zindabad' slogans raised during Bharat Jodo Yatra, alleges BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday alleged that 'Pakistan zindabad' slogans were raised during the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone.

BJP leader Amit Malviya tweeted a video showing Rahul Gandhi walking along with party supporters, including sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Malviya said the video was first tweeted by the Madhya Pradesh unit of Congress, however, it was deleted later.

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Twitter will now have gold, grey and blue checks

Twitter will tentatively launch its blue check subscription feature next Friday, Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said in a tweet, after holding off on the launch earlier this week.The social media platform will use different colour checks for organizations and individuals, Musk said.

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Gautam Adani makes Rs 40,800 crore bet to silence debt-obsessed critics

Gautam Adani’s plan to raise at least $5 billion (Rs 40,800 crore) in equity aims to shut down two of the most frequent criticisms levelled against the Indian tycoon’s swelling empire: high debt ratios and a limited investor base.

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Centre directs NIA probe into Mangaluru blast case: Karnataka Home Minister Jnanendra

Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Friday said the Centre has directed the National Investigation Agency to probe the Mangaluru blast case.

In a statement, Jnanendra said the state government had recommended an NIA probe into the cooker bomb blast in a moving autorickshaw, which the Union Ministry of Home Affairs accepted and ordered a probe by the premier investigation agency.

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US seeks strong India ties but distances itself from Modi

Despite apparent bonhomie at Bali between US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, official narratives about their meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit diverged significantly. A distancing between the two leaderships was further signalled by a public statement clubbing Prime Minister Modi with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Sultan (MBS) and other autocrats. It would seem the Biden administration is not willing to give the Modi government the long rope it enjoyed earlier.

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BJP releases party manifesto 'Sankalp Patra' for Delhi MCD polls

Union minister Piyush Goyal on Friday released the BJP's party manifesto 'Sankalp Patra' for Delhi MCD polls which includes bringing all services online and 100 per cent garbage processing. Reading out the 12-point manifesto, Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta said all services of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will be brought online through a mobile application within 100 days.

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'Squid Game' star indicted over sexual misconduct

Squid Game actor O Yeong-su has been indicted on charges of sexual misconduct, South Korea's prosecutor told AFP Friday. The 78-year-old in January became the first South Korean to win a Golden Globe Award for best supporting actor in a series for his performance as a seemingly vulnerable old man in the mega-hit Netflix dystopian thriller.

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Amit Shah appeals to historians to rewrite history in Indian context

Union Home Minister Amit Shah appealed to historians to rewrite history in the Indian context. Home Minister Shah was addressing the event of the 400th birth anniversary of 17th Century Ahom general Lachit Barphukan in Delhi.

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What if the dinosaurs hadn't gone extinct?

Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid hit the Earth with the force of 10 billion atomic bombs and changed the course of evolution. Imagine the asteroid had missed, and dinosaurs survived. Picture highly evolved raptors planting their flag on the moon. Dinosaur scientists, discovering relativity, or discussing a hypothetical world in which, incredibly, mammals took over the Earth.

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