President Murmu to attend Navy Day celebrations in Kerala capital
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The Indian Navy will on Wednesday carry out operational demonstrations at the Shangumugham Beach here as part of the Navy Day celebrations.
President Droupadi Murmu will be the chief guest at the event where 19 major war vessels, including India's indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, one submarine, four fast intervention boats, and 32 aircraft, both fighters and surveillance aircraft and helicopters, will demonstrate their prowess.
Murmu will arrive in the state capital at 4.20 pm and will be greeted with a guard of honor, official sources said.
She will attend the Navy Day celebrations and watch the naval exercises, after which she will go to the Lok Bhavan, the sources said.
The President will return to Delhi on Thursday morning, they said.
The Thiruvananthapuram International Airport Ltd (TIAL), in an advisory, has said that traffic restrictions will be in place near terminal 1 and 2 of the aerodrome due to the Navy Day celebrations.
The restrictions will be in place from afternoon till night and may result in additional travel time to the airport for passengers, it said and requested travellers to take precautions.
Navy Day is held to commemorate the Indian Navy missile boats' attack on Karachi harbour during the 1971 war.
A naval officer on Tuesday said that the "mega event" will provide a unique opportunity to all the citizens to witness the Indian Navy's state-of-the-art platforms and multi-domain operations.
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RSS man's defamation case against Rahul: Key witness unavailable, hearing adjourned to Dec 20
Thane (PTI): A court in Bhiwandi in Thane district on Saturday adjourned the hearing in the criminal defamation case filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker to December 20 due to non-availability of a crucial prosecution witness.
Advocate Narayan Iyer, counsel for Rahul Gandhi, confirmed the adjournment, stating that the witness, Ashok Saykar, currently Deputy Superintendent of Police in Barshi in Solapur, could not remain present due to personal reasons.
Saykar's evidence is now likely to be recorded on December 29.
His testimony is considered key because he, as police sub inspector in 2014, conducted the preliminary inquiry into the private defamation matter under Section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
It was on the basis of Saykar's submitted report that the court subsequently issued process (summons) against Rahul Gandhi under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The criminal defamation case was filed by local RSS worker Rajesh Kunte following a speech given by Rahul Gandhi at an election rally near Bhiwandi on March 6, 2014.
The case stems from the Congress leader's alleged statement that "the RSS people killed (Mahatma) Gandhi."
The matter is being heard by Bhiwandi Joint Civil Judge, Junior Division, P M Kolse.
The hearing had previously been adjourned on November 15 after the complainant's counsel, Advocate Prabodh Jaywant, moved an application seeking permission to examine Saykar, who had submitted the probe report to the court.
The matter was originally scheduled for November 29 but was deferred to December 6 after Rahul Gandhi's legal team sought an adjournment citing their non-availability. The proceedings will now resume on December 20.
