New Delhi, Nov 29: The Supreme Court on Thursday commenced hearing on CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma's plea against government's decision to divest him of duties and send him on leave.

Senior advocate Fali S Nariman, appearing for Verma, is advancing arguments before a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph which had on November 20 expressed deep anguish over the purported leak of the CBI director's response to the CVC's findings against him.

The bench was also irked over the publication of allegations levelled by agency's DIG Manoj Kumar Sinha in his separate plea.

At the outset, Nariman said the court cannot prohibit publication of the content of the petition as Article 19 of the Constitution is paramount and added, "If I file something tomorrow in the Registry then it can be published."

He also referred to the apex court's 2012 judgement in a case on the issue.

He added that if the apex court later prohibits then the matter cannot be published.

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Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Friday said that the state government has decided to formulate a new policy for footpaths in Bengaluru, under which street vending will not be allowed on main roads and sub-main roads.

Addressing the media after a budget preparation meeting and executive meeting of GBA corporations at Vidhana Soudha, Shivakumar said discussions were held with MLAs from the GBA region regarding the corporations’ budgets and key civic issues.

Leader of Opposition R. Ashok also participated in the meeting and shared his views. Officials from multiple departments, including police, BESCOM, BMRCL, BWSSB and BDA, along with ministers and legislators, were present.

He stated that all five municipalities have prepared their individual budgets, while MLAs have submitted their demands, including calls for ward-wise grants.

“We have decided to bring a new policy for footpaths. Citizens are struggling to walk as footpaths are encroached upon by street vendors,” Shivakumar said.

Highlighting the need to balance livelihoods and public convenience, he added that “a separate space will be provided for street vendors, and specific roads will be designated for their business,” ensuring that pedestrians can use footpaths without obstruction. He noted that there was unanimous agreement among MLAs on this approach.

Issuing a warning to vendors, Shivakumar said that authorities will act against those violating the rules. “If vendors operate during the day and leave their carts on the roadside at night, authorities will clear them. People should be aware of this,” he said.

Providing data on street vendors, he said that around 60,000 vendors have registered so far, of which 30,000 have applied for vehicles, and a tender has already been floated.

“Only those with street vendor identity cards will be allowed to do business. Those without ID cards will not be permitted to operate on the streets,” he added.