Bengaluru, Mar 29: Escoms have been directed neither to penalise its customers nor go for disconnection if one fails to pay the bill. The relief is applicable till June. However, the entire bill will have to be paid at the end of three months.
The revised power tariff, which was to be announced on April 1, has also been deferred.
A similar three-month relief has been given on rentals for APMC and BBMP shops.
New Delhi, Feb 21: A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the sedition case registered against a Karnataka school management for allegedly allowing students to stage an anti-CAA, anti-NRC drama that 'portrayed Prime Minister Narendra Modi in poor light'.
The petition seeks quashing of the FIR against the principal and other staff of the Shaheen School at Bidar who have been booked under sections 124-A (sedition) and 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) of the Indian Penal Code.
In the petition filed on Thursday, social activist Yogita Bhayana has also sought an apex court direction for a proper mechanism to deal with alleged government misuse of the sedition law.
Section 124A of the IPC says that "whoever brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards... the Government shall be punished with imprisonment for life...".
Bhayana, in the plea, has sought a direction to the Centre and the Karnataka government "to quash the FIR registered in connection of seditious charges against the school management, teacher and a widowed parent of a student for staging a play criticizing CAA, NRC, and NPR."
The petition claimed the police "also questioned students, and videos and screenshots of CCTV footage showing them speaking to the students were shared widely on social media, prompting criticism."
It further quoted the school principal, alleging that "on one occasion, police in uniform questioned students, with no child welfare officials present".
The plea said that the "proceedings were violative of Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty) of the Constitution and abuse of process of law."
"Issue an order directing the Centre to constitute a committee to scrutinise complaints under 124-A IPC and adhere to judgments by the apex court before registering the FIR under the section 124-A IPC," the petition said.
The drama was staged on January 21 by students of fourth, fifth and sixth standard.
The sedition case was filed based on a complaint from social worker Neelesh Rakshyal on January 26.
The complainant has alleged that the school authorities "used" the students to perform a drama where they "abused" Modi in the context of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens.
Bengaluru, June 27: In the wake of mounting covid-19 cases across Karnataka, the state government has decided to extend the night curfew hours and to re-impose Sunday lockdown.
Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa held an emergency meeting on Saturday with the state's top officials to discuss measures to further contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
During the meeting, it was decided that a state-wide lockdown will be imposed on each Sunday starting July 5. Only essential services and supplies will be allowed on Sundays.
Timings of the night curfew have also been revised to 8 PM - 5 AM from the earlier 9 PM - 5 AM. “We have decided to impose a curfew starting Monday, June 29, from 8 pm to 5 am every day. Right now, the curfew timing is 9 pm to 5 am, but it’ll be advanced by an hour to 8 pm,” said Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai
Commissioner of Bengaluru's civic body, BBMP has been directed to set up more wholesale vegetable markets to deter large crowds.
Meanwhile, government offices in Karnataka will open only five days a week and the weekend will be off for government employees.
It was also decided during the meeting on Saturday that a centralized bed-allocation system for Covid-19 patients will be taken up to ensure that each patient gets a bed without overwhelming the healthcare infrastructure.
Yediyurappa has also instructed officials to increase the number of ambulances for Covid-19 patients to 250 apart from arranging separate vehicles to carry mortal remains of victims. The police control room will aid officials in identifying the location and easing the movement of ambulances.
Information about nodal officers working for COVID management will be published. Joint Commissioners of 8 regions will be given additional responsibilities and KAS officers will be appointed to assist them.
The services of 180 ESI doctors appointed by the Labour Department will also be relied on by the state government. CM Yediyurappa has also asked officials to reserve wedding halls, hostels and other institutions in Bengaluru as COVID Care Centres.
Bengaluru Urban DC, on the other hand, was instructed to identify more places for the last rites of patients and also to form more teams for this purpose.
The BBMP Commissioner has been told to notify reservation of 50 per cent beds in medical colleges and private hospitals.
Bengaluru, Apr 27: Janata Dal-Secular leader and former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy on Monday said that the government should work towards lowering the cost of living as the spending power of the consumer has weakened, and it should impose COVID cess on the ultra-rich.
"The economy won't bounce back within a very short period. It is important to lower the cost of living as the spending power of the consumer has depleted. The government must cut the petrol/diesel prices. The loss of revenue may be offset partially by imposing COVID cess on the ultra-rich," Kumaraswamy tweeted.
"According to RBI and international economic assessment agencies, the GDP growth rate of the country is expected to fall to a historic low. Such a dire situation calls for citizen-centric measures like full or partial waivers of EMIs, rents, school fees, and other levies," he added.
Kumaraswamy further said that the government must announce schemes to save the livelihoods of people, especially those in the unorganised sector.
"It is high time the government announced schemes to save livelihoods of people, especially those in the unorganised sector. The government must provide immediate relief to farmers, construction workers, cab and auto drivers, garment workers, etc," the former Karnataka CM tweeted.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) had said on April 23 that India's economic growth is likely to hover between zero and 1.5 per cent in the current financial year as the extended COVID-19 lockdown slows down activity across most sectors.
India is under a nation-wide lockdown which was imposed on March 25 and later extended on April 14 to May 3 to stem the spread of coronavirus.
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