Apex court notice on migrant law

New Delhi: Deportation of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants took an all-India hue with the Supreme Court directing the Centre to file its reply on issuing multi-purpose national identity cards to all citizens and extending the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act, especially to Delhi and Bengal, reports our legal correspondent.

The state of Bengal and a petitioner from Delhi had filed pleas seeking a directive to the Centre to extend the Illegal Migrants Act to their states.

The court also asked the Centre to file an action taken report on the 1998 submission of the Assam governor that continued influx of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants had altered the demography of the region.

A three-judge bench of Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti and Justices G.P. Mathur and P.K. Balasubramanyan sought an action taken report on creating and updating the National Citizenship Register, pending since 1951. The creation of the register was a major aspect of the Assam accord.

The All India Lawyers Forum for Civil Liberties, Asom Gana Parishad MP Sarabananda Sonowal and Ramesh Borpatra Gohain from Assam had filed petitions seeking a directive to deport the Bangladeshis. The state of Bengal, the Jamait Ulama-e-Hind of Assam, and Abu Hanif of Delhi filed petitions opposing the plea and seeking a directive to continue with the Illegal Migrants Act and extend it to other states.

Principal in stolen cars net

Madurai (PTI): A school headmaster was among the four-member gang arrested on Wednesday in connection with selling stolen cars in Tamil Nadu, police said.

The gang was taken into custody after the car in which two of them were travelling was searched by the police at a checkpost in Karaikudi about 70 km from here. Money and two stolen cars were seized from them, the police said. The duo were travelling in a stolen luxury car.

Investigation led to the arrest of two other gang members. The gang had sold the stolen cars to several officials including police officers, political leaders and government officials.

Bar on sting telecast

Mumbai (PTI): Mumbai police on Thursday asked India TV to refrain from airing the Shakti Kapoor expose on casting couch in Bollywood.

Police sources said a notice was issued by the social service branch to the channel asking it not to air such ?objectionable? material failing which it would attract penal provisions.

Missing baby

Hyderabad (PTI): An infant was stolen from a hospital on Wednesday. Lakshmi, who gave birth to a son on Tuesday at the Niloufer hospital, claimed a woman made friendship with her and took her son to administer polio drops but did not return. On Saturday, a five-month-old boy was stolen by two women from the same hospital.

Hospital power

Allahabad (PTI): Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh power corporation to exempt state-run hospitals from load shedding. The order was passed during the hearing of a PIL praying that steps be taken to develop the SM Hospital, SN Children Hospital and MD Eye Hospital as model institutions.

Man shot by son

Muzaffarnagar (PTI): Unhappy over the land distribution worked out by his father, a man shot him dead on Wednesday in Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh. Narendra shot Charan Singh while he was asleep. He later surrendered to police .

Rail reservation

Calcutta: An agitation by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited employees affected the railways public reservation system across eastern India. According to an Eastern Railway official, 143 reservation counters were affected by BSNL link failure in Calcutta, Patna, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Dhanbad, Ranchi and other places.

Chautala fracture

Chandigarh (PTI): Former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala suffered a minor fracture in his left leg and was admitted at the PGIMER institute on Wednesday.

Mera Safar, the Urdu translation of 17 poems written by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was presented to him by the author, Shakil Shifai, at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday.