Interview record plea in court

• CHANDIGARH: Punjab and Haryana High Court has sought a response from the Punjab government on a PIL seeking that records of job interviews be maintained through audio and video recording for transparency. The court issued the notices for January 18 next year. It was hearing a petition by one Sandeep Kumar, who referred to a recruitment scandal under the chairmanship of Ravi Sidhu who was eventually convicted on corruption charges. PTI

Tribal appeals

• MUMBAI: Bombay High Court has directed that all petitions relating to the welfare of tribals be heard by a special bench, saying that the state authorities had "completely neglected" the population for so long. The court, which was hearing a bunch of PILs highlighting a rise in malnutrition-related deaths in Vidarbha, also asked the government to mention the steps taken by it for the development of tribals. PTI

Parking fee

• NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has urged lieutenant governor Anil Baijal to "reconsider" the hike in parking charges, saying the move was proving to be counter-productive in tackling pollution levels. The government said that because of the four-fold hike in parking fee, people were likely to drive their vehicles instead of parking them at Metro stations and using public transport. PTI

Wildlife reports

• NEW DELHI: An animal protection body has asked the information and broadcasting ministry to develop a protocol for the media on reporting human-wildlife conflicts. Humane Society International - India said in a letter to the ministry that media reports on wildlife conflicts often vilified imperilled species. PTI

Green rap

• NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal on Wednesday slammed the Uttarakhand government for constructing a new Assembly building without the mandatory clearances. The government told the tribunal it had applied for the clearances. PTI

Liquor raid

• SIKAR: Two excise department officials who had raided an illegal liquor den were allegedly attacked by some people in Rajasthan's Piprali village on Tuesday night. PTI

Kidnap & murder arrests

• MUMBAI: Two persons have been arrested for allegedly kidnapping and killing a 10-year-old boy from suburban Powai. The accused, identified as Amar Singh, 20, and Lallu Singh, 20, allegedly panicked and strangled the boy after his father, known to Amar, called up and enquired about the child's whereabouts. Police said the boy was last seen playing with Amar and the child's father lodged a missing complaint when his son did not return home till late in the evening. The accused have been sent to seven days' police custody. PTI

Aviation portal

• NEW DELHI: The civil aviation ministry will soon launch a portal to do away with paperwork in obtaining security clearances for various entities in the sector, such as those involved in cargo handling and running commercial businesses in the terminal. The online portal will be functional from December 1. PTI

Amarnath poser

• NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal on Wednesday pulled up the Amarnath Shrine Board for not providing adequate infrastructure to pilgrims, saying it can't "deprive people of proper darshan". The tribunal noted that shops had been allowed along the path and the number of toilets were not enough. PTI

Godman bail blow

• THANE: A Thane court has rejected the anticipatory bail plea of a 60-year-old "godman" accused of raping a woman and swindling her out of Rs 3 lakh by promising to cure her cancer-stricken father. The accused, who has an ashram in Assam, had got in touch with the woman, a senior executive in a private firm, after she uploaded on social media a plea for cancer treatment. PTI

Bikers killed

• BALLIA: Two persons riding a motorcycle were killed in Ballia when an SUV hit the bike. The two have been identified as Sunil Singh, 41, and Hanumant Singh, 70. PTI

Railway post order

• ALLAHABAD: Allahabad High Court has held that the government cannot accommodate an employee in a post with a lower pay scale just because he or she acquired some disability during service and became unfit for the current rank. A bench of Justices Bharati Sapru and Siddharth dismissed a petition by the railway ministry and directed it to pay S.Q. Ahmed, who was given a lower post, his dues according to the higher pay grade with 7 per cent interest. PTI

Orphanage rank

• NEW DELHI: The government plans to rank orphanages or child care institutes across the country, a senior official has said. The move follows a study by the women and child development ministry that revealed that more than half of the total 9,000 child-care institutes surveyed were not registered under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. PTI

Indrani claim

• MUMBAI: Indrani Mukerjea, arrested in the Sheena Bora murder case, has told a CBI court that her husband Peter Mukerjea might have caused her daughter's disappearance out of "greed and ill-will". Though Indrani did not expressly accuse Peter of killing Sheena, she said he and their former driver Shyamwar Rai could be behind her abduction, destroying of evidence and framing her in the case. PTI

Harass report

• THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Air India Express has been asked by the Kerala women's commission to submit the action-taken report of its internal complaints committee over the sexual harassment charge raised by an air hostess against a pilot. The report has to be filed within 15 days, commission sources said PTI

Bank heist plan

• MUMBAI: The burglars who had dug a 25-feet tunnel to loot valuables and cash worth Rs 2.85 crore from a bank in Navi Mumbai had planned the act at least five months ago, an investigating officer said on Wednesday. PTI

Power theft jail

• NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has sentenced a businessman to two years' rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 21.5 lakh on him in a case of power theft. PTI