Defamation case against Rahul: Hearing in UP court deferred to Dec 8 due to lawyer's death
Sultanpur (PTI): The hearing in a defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a court here on Wednesday was deferred to December 8 due to the death of a lawyer.
Gandhi's lawyer, Kashi Prasad Shukla, stated that due to a condolence meeting held today for the death of civil court lawyer Sudhanshu Upadhyay, all lawyers abstained from work, preventing any proceedings.
The next hearing in this case will be held in the MP-MLA court on December 8.
The case dates back to August 4, 2018, when BJP leader Vijay Mishra filed a defamation suit against Gandhi, alleging that the Congress leader had made objectionable remarks against the then BJP national president and current Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the Karnataka assembly election campaign.
Following Gandhi's failure to appear during the five-year court proceedings, the court issued a warrant against him in December 2023.
Subsequently, in February 2024, Gandhi surrendered before the court. The special judge granted him bail on two sureties of Rs 25,000 each.
On July 26, 2024, Gandhi filed his statement in court, in which he declared himself innocent and called the case a political conspiracy.
The court then directed the plaintiff to present evidence. Witnesses have been presented continuously since then. So far, only one witness has been cross-examined.
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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
