Ireland PM Varadkar arrives in Goa to celebrate New Year
Panaji: Ireland Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who has his roots in India, arrived on Monday in Goa where he would ring in the New Year, an official said.
Varadkar, who is currently on a private visit to India, would be staying at a plush resort in North Goa district, a senior police official said.
Security around the resort has been beefed up,he said. "Prime Minister Varadkar's visit is entirely private. There are no official functions planned during his visit. He would be in Goa till January 1 alongwith his family," he said.
He will take a flight from the Dabolim Airport here on January 1 afternoon to return to his country, the official added.
On Sunday, Varadkar along with his family members visited his ancestral village Varad in the coastal Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra.
It was his first visit to the village, said Varadkar, who became prime minister ofIreland in June 2017. His father Ashok Varadkar, a doctor, moved to the United Kingdom in the 1960s.
The visit was a "special moment" as three generations of his family gathered at Varad, theIreland prime minister said after the villagers felicitated him. He also visited a temple of the village deity.
During an interaction with villagers, he said, "This is my fifth visit to India but first to Varad village where my grandfather and father have been brought up. It is a privilege and honour for me to visit this place."
The Ireland PM also said he knows a few words of Marathi, his father's language, but not enough for interaction.
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Supreme Court grants anticipatory bail to Pawan Khera in Assam Police FIR
New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Friday granted anticipatory bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera in connection with an FIR registered by the Assam Police.
The case arose from a complaint filed by Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, wife of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, over allegations made by Khera that she possessed multiple passports.
A bench comprising Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice AS Chandurkar delivered the judgment after reserving orders on Khera’s petition challenging the dismissal of his anticipatory bail plea by the Gauhati High Court.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court observed that the High Court’s findings were not based on a proper appreciation of the material on record and appeared to be erroneous, particularly in shifting the burden onto the accused.
The bench further held that the High Court erred in making observations regarding an offence under Section 339 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, noting that the FIR did not contain any such allegation. It stated that such conclusions could not have been drawn merely on the basis of submissions made by the Advocate General.
