CBI searches residences of West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim, TMC MLA Madan Mitra
Kolkata (PTI): The CBI conducted searches at the residences of senior West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim and TMC MLA Madan Mitra in Kolkata on Sunday morning in connection with its investigation into the alleged irregularities in recruitments made by the civic bodies in the state, officials said.
Hakim, the minister of urban development and municipal affairs, is also the mayor of Kolkata. He is a senior leader of the TMC and has significant sway in the party's organisation.
A team of CBI officers reached his residence in south Kolkata's Chetla area along with a large contingent of central forces, officials said.
"Two CBI officers are questioning him," a senior official told PTI.
As the searches began, Hakim's supporters gathered outside his house, and began a protest.
A CBI team also searched the residence of Mitra, a former minister and the MLA of Kamarhati in North 24 Parganas district, in the Bhabanipur area, around 3 km from Hakim's residence in Chetla.
Both Hakim and Mitra were arrested by the CBI in 2021 in the Narada sting operation case. Mitra was also arrested by the CBI in 2014 in the Saradha chit fund scam.
On Thursday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched multiple locations, including the residence of Food and Supplies Minister Rathin Ghosh, in connection with the recruitment case.
It is alleged by the central investigating agencies that around 1,500 people were illegally recruited by different civic bodies in the state, between 2014 and 2018, against monetary considerations.
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Madras HC strikes down TN order limiting maternity leave for third child
Chennai: The Madras High Court has set aside a Tamil Nadu government order restricting maternity leave for a third pregnancy to 12 weeks, holding the move to be contrary to established legal principles.
A division bench comprising Justices R Suresh Kumar and N Senthil Kumar ruled that there was no justification to treat third pregnancies differently from the first two, observing that the physical and medical requirements of childbirth remain the same irrespective of the number of pregnancies, as reported by The News Minute.
According to a report published by Live Law, the court was hearing a petition filed by Shayee Nisha, a staff member of the district judiciary in Villupuram, whose request for maternity leave from February 2026 to February 2027 had been curtailed to three months by authorities citing the March 13, 2026 government order.
Quashing the decision of the Principal District Judge and related directions asking her to resume duty, the bench directed that she be granted maternity leave on par with that provided for earlier pregnancies, allowing up to 365 days.
The court noted that both the Supreme Court of India and earlier rulings of the High Court had consistently held that maternity benefits cannot be denied for a third child. Holding the restriction to be unsustainable, the court directed authorities to process maternity leave applications without discrimination based on the number of pregnancies.
It also pointed out that a similar issue had been addressed by a division bench earlier this year, which had disapproved denial of maternity leave in such cases and directed that its ruling be circulated among judicial officers. Despite this, the state issued the impugned order, the bench observed.
