INTERNET FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT, REVIEW SUSPENSION IN J-K: SCThe Supreme Court on Friday asked the J-K administration to review allorders of suspension of the Internet.The court said the right to access the Internet is a fundamental right underArticle 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, subject to reasonable restrictionsunder Article 19(2).Trade and commerce through the Internet is protected under Article 19(1)(g)of the Constitution which guarantees the fundamental right to trade,business, occupation or profession, it said.On prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC, the court said it couldnot be used as a tool to suppress difference of opinion.It said the administration could not refuse to produce the orders issuedafter scrapping of Article 370.The Bench headed by Justice NV Ramana said the test of proportionalityneeded to be satisfied. The freedom could be restricted only after relevantfactors were considered and only if there were no other options.The apex court ordered forthwith review of orders suspending the Internet inJammu and Kashmir, saying such suspension could not be for an unlimitedperiod. It could only be for a limited period and was subject to judicialreview, it added. Internet suspension without a particular duration andindefinitely is a violation of the Telecom Rules, the top court said. Itordered the J-K administration to produce all orders invoking Section 144 ofthe CrPC.The Supreme Court's landmark verdict is a warning to the "arrogant" positionof the central government, Congress leader P Chidambaram tweeted. He alsocalled on former Governor Satya Pal Malik to "own responsibility" and resignfrom his current post as Governor of Goa.SC ORDER ON INTERNET SHUTDOWN GOES BEYOND J&KDirecting the government to mandatorily publish all orders permittingInternet shutdowns, the Supreme Court has for the first time set the stagefor challenging suspension orders before courts.Although the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency orPublic Service) Rules, 2017 issued under the Telegraph Act - the law thatdeals with restricting Internet access - does not provide for publication ornotification of the order suspending Internet, the apex court mandated thatsuch orders must be made available to the public.The court declared that it is a "settled principle of law, and of naturaljustice" that requires publication of such orders, "particularly one thataffects lives, liberty and property of people". "Any law which demandscompliance of the people requires to be notified directly and reliably," itsaid.This allows individuals to now challenge the orders before courts anywherein India. In the wake of protests against the new citizenship law, Internetservices were suspended temporarily in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi andKarnataka. While suspension orders were always subject to judicial review,lack of availability of such orders in public domain prevented suchchallenges before courts.India tops the list of Internet shutdowns globally. According to SoftwareFreedom Law Center's tracker, there have been 381 shutdowns since 2012, 106of which were in 2019. The ongoing shutdown in Kashmir is the longest everin any democratic country.The Supreme Court also highlighted 'gaps' in the current Suspension Rules.In favour of the petitioners, the court tightened the window for broadtelecom suspensions, stating they had to be "necessary" and "unavoidable".Lastly, the court mandated that all orders regarding the Kashmir case bemade public, and to provide essential services such as e-banking andhospitals immediately. Vrinda Grover, counsel for petitioner AnuradhaBhasin, said she is waiting for the government to take mandated actions -publishing the orders and setting up a review committee to decide whetherthese orders withstand the proportionality principles outlined by the court- before deciding next legal steps.CAA NOTIFIED, EFFECTIVE FROM JAN 10Even as protests continue across the country against the Citizenship(Amendment) Act (CAA), the government on Friday notified the controversiallegislation, making it effective beginning January 10.This practically means that beginning January 10, at least legally, illegalimmigrants from communities - barring Muslims - can apply for Indiancitizenship under the new Act. However, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)is yet to notify the rules for CAA. Without the rules in place, identifyingnecessary authorities and streamlining processes may not be feasible.The notification comes in the backdrop of large-scale protests across thecountry against the Act and fears being expressed that along with theNational Register of Citizens, the Act will practically disenfranchise alarge number of Muslims.The Act has been opposed by multiple state governments. Kerala and WestBengal have announced they will not implement CAA. The Kerala Assembly haseven passed a resolution against it.JNU VIOLENCE: DELHI POLICE POINT FINGER MOSTLY AT LEFT GROUPSDelhi Police on Friday released pictures of nine suspects in the JNUviolence case and claimed JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh was one of them.Of the nine, seven belong to Left-leaning student organisations, while twoare affiliated to right-wing students' body, the police said.Addressing a press conference, DCP (Crime Branch) Joy Tirkey, who is probingthe case, said a majority of the students wanted to register for the wintersemester from January 1 to 5, but the Left-leaning students' bodies were notallowing them to do so. Several people, including Aishe Ghosh, attackedstudents in the hostel, the police officer claimed.Ghosh, who was injured in the attack, however, refuted the charge, sayingDelhi Police should make public whatever proof it has against her. "I toohave evidence of how I was attacked," she said.Acknowledging that she was present on the campus, Ghosh denied that she hadany part in the violence. She said that photographs do not prove hercomplicity.Ghosh also accused the Delhi Police of indulging in similar misinformationin the past too. "In 2016, also they did the same thing. They doctoredvideos of Kanhaiya Kumar."TAIWAN BEGINS VOTING WITH FUTURE OF ITS DEMOCRACY ON THE LINEThe future of Taiwan's democracy is on the line as the self-ruled island's19 million voters decide on whether to give independence-leaning PresidentTsai Ing-wen a second term.Voting began at 8 a.m. today and wraps up at 4 p.m. The vote count willbegin soon after, with results expected later in the evening.For many in Taiwan, months of protests in Hong Kong have cast in starkrelief the contrast between their democratically governed island andauthoritarian, communist-ruled mainland China.Tsai said the election was a chance to protect Taiwan's democracy.If reelected, Tsai will face challenges in trying to reform the governmentand economy and push through unpopular cuts in generous civil servicepensions.US ANNOUNCES NEW SANCTIONS ON IRAN AFTER MISSILE STRIKESThe Trump administration on Friday announced a new wave of sanctions on Iranfollowing this week's missile strikes by the Islamic Republic on U.S. basesin Iraq.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin saidthe new sanctions will target eight senior Iranian officials involved in"destabilising" activities in the Middle East as well as Tuesday's missilestrike, which came in retaliation for the US killing of a senior Iraniangeneral in a drone strike.Mr. Mnuchin said President Donald Trump will issue an executive orderimposing sanctions on anyone involved in the Iranian textile, construction,manufacturing or mining sectors.They will also impose separate sanctions against the steel and iron sectors."As a result of these actions we will cut off billions of dollars of supportto the Iranian regime," the treasury secretary said.THOUSANDS OF IRAQIS RALLY AGAINST GOVERNMENT, IRAN, USThousands of Iraqis rallied across the country on Friday, reviving amonths-long protest movement against the government and adding criticisms ofboth the US and Iran to their chants.The anti-regime demonstrations had been overshadowed recently by spirallingtensions between Tehran and Washington, which led each country to carry outstrikes against the other's assets in Iraq over the last week.Iraqis turned out across the country, with hundreds streaming into thecapital's Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the anti-regime movement. "ScrewIran! Screw America!" they cried out in the iconic square, still lined withtents and stalls set up three months ago.Thousands more took to the streets in the country's Shiite-majority south,including the main protest hotspots of Diwaniyah, Nasiriyah, the oil-richport city of Basra and the twin shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala.JNU VIOLENCE: TEACHERS SEEK TO RETRIEVE FOOTAGEThree professors of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Friday moved the DelhiHigh Court seeking order to police to preserve and retrieve all CCTV footagein connection with the January 5 violence on the JNU campus.The petition by JNU professors Ameet Parameswaran, Atul Sood and ShuklaVinayak Sawant, sought directions for preservation and retrieval of allevidence available with WhatsApp, Google and Apple, pertaining to relevantdata of WhatsApp groups 'Unity Against Left' and 'Friends of RSS', includingmessages, pictures, videos and phone numbers of the members.KHAP STAND AGAINST SAME-GOTRA MARRIAGES IS SCIENTIFIC: HARYANA CMHaryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar Friday came out in support ofKhap panchayats claiming that their stand on not allowing marriages betweenpeople of same gotra has scientific backing.Khaps, or caste or community organisations in villages, have often, actingas quasi-judicial bodies, pronounced harsh punishments based on regressivecustoms and traditions."Some people have tried to defame the khap panchayats, but they have aprinciple that within a village.intra-clan marriages should not take place.It has been proven scientifically that intra-clan marriages should not beperformed," Khattar said in Panchkula."If the relation of sister and brother is followed within the village, orwithin neighbouring villages and khaps. then certainly it will have animpact on the society," he added.Opponents of the same gotra marriages term such weddings as social crime.The khap panchayats have been seeking an amendment in the Hindu Marriage Actto prohibit same gotra marriages.SMRITI IRANI HITS OUT AT DEEPIKA PADUKONE FOR JNU VISITAttacking Bollywood star Deepika Padukone for her visit to JNU, Unionminister Smriti Irani has said the actor chose to stand next to people whowanted the "destruction of India".Deepika on Tuesday made a surprise visit to the JNU to express solidaritywith students who were attacked by a masked mob inside the campus on January5. She did not address the public meeting but stood silently behind studentleaders.According to Irani, Deepika had made her political affiliations known in2011 itself when she praised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and called him asuitable candidate for the post of the prime minister.The Textiles minister added that people who admired the Bollywood star'swork are in shock over her decision to visit the JNU campus. "I think theproblem that has happened is that a lot of people are in shock. They didn'tknow. There were a lot of people who were admirers and possibly watched manyof her films and for them it was a shock."Deepika has been in the eye of the proverbial storm after her visit to JNU,getting appreciation from various quarters but also being criticised andtrolled by many on social media and elsewhere.RAPES IN INDIA: EVERY 4TH VICTIM A MINOR, 94% OFFENDERS KNOWNEvery fourth rape victim across the country in 2018 was a minor, while morethan 50 per cent of them fell in the age category of 18 to 30 years,according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.In almost 94 per cent of the cases, the offenders were known to the victims- family members, friends, live-in partners, employers or others, the datashowed.ED ATTACHES RS 78-CRORE ASSETS OF FORMER ICICI CEO CHANDA KOCHHARAssets worth Rs 78 crore have been attached by the ED in connection with amoney-laundering probe against former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar andothers, officials said on Friday.A provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) hasbeen issued for attachment of the properties that includes Kochhar'sMumbai-based house and some other assets belonging to a company linked toher, they said.The book value of the attached assets is Rs 78 crore, they said.The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is probing Kochhar, her husband DeepakKochhar and others in a case of alleged irregularities and money-launderingin giving loans by the bank to the Videocon group.CYRUS MISTRY CASE: SC GIVES RELIEF TO TATA GROUPThe Supreme Court on Friday stayed the NCLAT order restoring Cyrus Mistry asexecutive chairman of the Tata Group, observing that there were "lacunae" inthe orders passed by the Tribunal.At the outset, a bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices BR Gavai andSurya Kant said the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) decisionsuffered from "basic errors and we have to hear the matter in detail".The bench said, "You (Cyrus) have been out of the saddle quite a long time.Does this hurt you....How does it hurt you today?"The bench said there was no prayer in the petition for reinstatement ofMistry but the tribunal went ahead with it and ordered his reinstatement."We find there are lacunae in the judicial orders passed by the NCLAT," thebench said issuing notices to Mistry and others.Tata Sons Private Ltd (TSPL) challenged the December 18 decision of NCLATthat gave a big relief to Cyrus Investment Pvt Ltd and Mistry, restoring himas the executive chairman of TSPL.BIG BROADCASTERS WARN NEW TARIFF RULES COULD HIT SERVICESSome of the biggest television broadcasters operating in India joined forceson Friday to criticise new government regulations that impose restrictionson pay-TV charges, saying the move could put some channels out of business.Senior executives from India's Zee Entertainment, Viacom18 Media, SonyCorp's local unit, The Walt Disney Co and its TV network Star India, gottogether to brief the media in Mumbai and said excessive regulation willalso crimp their ability to keep up with technological advances.The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) this month ordereddirect-to-home and cable operators to double the number of channels theyoffer by charging a basic "network capacity fee" to 200, and capped thecharges for additional channels. It also reduced the price ceilings forsome channel offerings.TRAI's decision, which comes in force from March 1, will reduce customers'monthly bills but adversely hit the revenues and profitability ofbroadcasters, according to the research arm of ratings agency ICRA.MAHINDRA EKUV100 COULD BE THE MOST AFFORDABLE EV IN INDIAMahindra has announced that it will be expanding its electric vehicleportfolio with the market launch of the eKUV100 in April-June 2020. At arecent event, Dr Pawan Goenka, managing director, Mahindra & Mahindra,further stated, "Our focus (with the eKUV) is on shared mobility andtherefore we have focused on how to make it affordable." The companyrevealed that the all-electric hatchback will be priced under the Rs 9lakh-mark and will deliver a range of 130-150km on a single charge.At an aggressive price tag of under Rs 9 lakh, the eKUV100 will essentiallybecome the most affordable, mainstream electric car in the Indian market,though it still remains to be seen whether this price point is inclusive ofthe Indian government's FAME 2 (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing ofElectric vehicles) subsidies for commercial EVs. As such, the new Mahindrawill undercut its own sibling, the eVerito, as well as the Tata Tigor EV,which are priced starting at Rs 9.12 lakh and Rs 9.44 lakh, respectively -these figures are inclusive of the available government incentives.Mahindra has also emphasised that the eKUV100 will be geared more towardsthe fleet segment. Goenka and other key officials opined that appealing to aprivate buyer would require a significantly higher range. This could beachieved only by upping the battery size which, in turn, would drive upcosts and result in the vehicle being priced out of the segment.INDIA CRUSH SRI LANKA BY 78 RUNS, WIN SERIES 2-0India defeated Sri Lanka by 78 runs in the third and final T20 Internationalto win the the three-match series 2-0 in Pune yesterday. Sent into bat,India rode on K L Rahul (54 off 36) and Shikhar Dhawan's (52 off 36) 97-runopening stand to post a challenging 201/6 in their allotted 20 overs. ManishPandey then smashed 31 off 18 balls and skipper Virat Kohli, batting atnumber six, scored a brisk 17-ball 26.But India wouldn't have crossed 200-run mark had it not been for ShardulThakur's blistering 22 off only eight balls.Defending the total, the Indian bowlers, led by right-arm pacer NavdeepSaini (3/28) Shardul Thakur (2/19), dished out a disciplined effort tobundle out Sri Lanka for 123 in 15.5 overs. Off-spinner Washington Sundaralso picked up two wickets giving away 37 runs from his four overs. India,thus, won the series 2-0 after registering a comprehensive seven-wicket winin the second T20 International in Indore. The first match of the series waswashed out in Guwahati without a ball being bowled.Next up is the 3-match ODI series against Australia. The first match will beplayed in Mumbai on 14th Jan, followed by one at Rajkot on 17th and then andBengaluru on 19th.