-PTI Ensure that findings of the probe are kept in a sealed cover The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Election Commission to proceed with its probe into the authenticity of the former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan's spendings during the 2009 State Assembly elections, allegedly involving expenses on “paid news.” A Bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and J. Chelameshwar, however, asked the Commission's counsel Meenakshi Arora to ensure that findings of the...

-The Hindustan Times Home secretary RK Singh has told a Parliamentary panel that the “lack of commitment” on part of some Naxal-affected states was a key problem in acting against the rebels. Singh did not take any names at the meeting of the House panel. Home minister P Chidambaram when asked about Singh's remarks; said he wasn't aware of what Singh had told the panel. But Singh did not make any secret...

Noting that many young people join Indian Police Service (IPS) only when they don't get their first choice of job in the civil services - specifically Indian Administrative Service (IAS) or Indian Foreign Service (IFS) -- a parliamentary panel has suggested a separate examination for IPS where "attitude and aptitude" of aspirants are thoroughly tested so that the quality of 'service' is not compromised. Asking the government to "explore the possibility...

A barbed wire fence put up on Government land dividing two different groups of Dalits for nearly a decade in Santhaiyur village near Peraiyur was removed by the Madurai Rural district police on Wednesday. A section of people belonging to one of the Scheduled Castes had erected stone pillars and fenced the poromboke land for about 30 feet with barbed wires to “prevent the people of other group entering the land...

COIMBATORE: The Tamil Nadu forest department's push to get Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary declared a tiger reserve suffered a setback on Wednesday when grama sabhas in all 19 tribal-majority panchayats in the region passed separate resolutions against the move. The resolutions said the department had not consulted the local communities on the project, though Section 38 V of the Wildlife Protection Act makes it mandatory. The Wildlife Protection Act stipulates that approval from...