-Hindustan Times Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s decision to use his Photograph in newspaper advertisements is tantamount to “an open contempt” of the Supreme Court’s ban on using pictures of CMs in government publicity, legal experts say. Yadav’s Photograph appeared recently in full-page newspaper advertisements highlighting an agreement to construct an international cricket stadium in Lucknow. A Uttar Pradesh government ad with Akhilesh Yadav that appeared in a newspaper on Friday. On May...

-The Hindu The apex court, however, permitted the use of Photographs of the President, Prime Minister and CJI in the advertisements. In a historic judgment holding that taxpayers' money cannot be spent to build "personality cults" of political leaders, the Supreme Court on Wednesday restrained ruling parties from publishing Photographs of political leaders or prominent persons in government-funded advertisements. The apex court said such photos divert attention from the policy of the government,...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The larger-than-life images of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on hoardings asking people to use the anti-corruption helpline 1031 across Delhi will soon vanish. Welcoming the Supreme Court directive to ban media advertisements containing photos of chief ministers, ministers and functionaries of ruling political parties, Delhi government is ready to comply with the order and will bring down all such hoardings. Soon after the SC order, a...

-Hindustan Times They are called cafeteria sessions. At lunch time, Greenpeace fund-raisers wander among hundreds, sometimes thousands, of young men and women packing the cafeterias of Indian companies. It’s not a good idea to name these companies. Greenpeace’s activities include forest preservation, renewable-energy promotion and fighting on behalf of local communities. These appear to be popular causes among young professionals. Donations of Rs 300 to Rs 500 constitute about 80% of...

-Hindustan Times Hamirpur/ Jalaun/ Banda: The dangerous sand mafia stops at nothing. It kills, runs over men in uniform, kidnaps and, in Uttar Pradesh, even molests and rapes. Its impunity stems from the fact, as an HT investigation found, that complaints lodged with police often remain confined to files. Shivpal Singh, gram pradhan of Bansariya village, testifies to the mafia’s dominance. “In March 2014, the musclemen of a kingpin sexually assaulted two women...