Honda to recall 57,676 units of City, Jazz, Civic in India..

Japanese carmaker Honda today announced the recall of 57,676 units of its three models -- City, Jazz and Civic -- in India manufactured between January 2012 and June 2013 to replace faulty airbags as part of its global exercise.
The company's Indian arm, Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) said it will voluntarily replace driver side airbag inflators of 57,676 vehicles of previous generation of City, Jazz and Civic as part of the firm's preventive global recall campaign concerning air bag inflators.
The recall will affect 49,572 units of City sedan made between January 2012 and June 2013 and 7,504 units of premium hatchback Jazz produced during February 2012 to February 2013, HCIL said in a statement.
It also said 600 units of Civic sedan manufactured between January 2012 and August 2012 are also covered under the recall.
"The replacement would be carried out free of cost at HCIL dealerships across India in a phased manner, starting from February 20, 2016, and the company will communicate with customers directly," it said.
In September, HCIL had announced to recall around 2.24 lakh units of its premium sports utility vehicles -- CR-V, sedans Civic, City and hatchback Jazz, manufactured between 2003 and 2012 -- to replace faulty airbag inflators in which was the largest such exercise in the country then.
Later in December, the company announced recall 90,210 units of its sedan City and multi-purpose vehicle Mobilio in India manufactured between December 2013 and July 2015 to replace faulty fuel return pipe.

JNU row: Kanhaiya Kumar faces Supreme Court contempt..

 

 

Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against arrested JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar

The raging JNU sedition row assumed an altogether different dimension on Friday with the Supreme Court agreeing to hear a plea seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against arrested JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar, absconding student activist Umar Khalid, ex-DU professor SAR Geelani and four others.
This was in connection with alleged distribution of pamphlets during events at the JNU campus and Delhi Press Club which termed Parliament attack case convict Afzal Guru's hanging as "judicial killing". The death sentence awarded to Guru by sessions court was confirmed by Delhi High Court and Supreme Court.
"By calling the act as judicial killing, judges of the apex court have been projected as killers despite the free and fair trial of the convict and it clearly tantamount to criminal contempt. The Supreme Court needs to take stringent action against the offenders. The parties named in the petition have crossed every limit of the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression," Petitioner Vineet Dhanda, a Supreme Court lawyer said in the petition.
A bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur agreed to list the plea for hearing next week after it was mentioned by senior lawyer JP Dhanda. The other four who have been made parties in the petition include Lenin Kumar, member of the Democratic Student Federation, research scholar Anirban Bhattacharya, JNUSU vice-president Shehla Rashid Shora, and Ali Javed, a member of the Press Club of India.
"Supreme Court of India has passed a detailed judgment after giving due consideration as per law and after going through the evidence. Afzal Guru was hanged to death after he had exhausted all legal remedies," the petition said.
Meanwhile, Kanhaiya failed to get relief from SC after it refused to hear his bail plea and asked his battery of top lawyers to approach Delhi HC. They have moved HC and the plea is likely to be come up for hearing on Monday. This means that Kanhaiya will have to spent at least three more nights in Tihar Jail.
Citing the reason for rejection, the apex court said if it directly entertains a bail plea, it would set a "dangerous precedent". "Why have you come here directly? If we entertain it will be laying a dangerous proposition opening floodgates for all accused in similar situation to come to us directly. This will be witnessed especially in sensational cases. Why this short cut? If you are objected there, then come here," Justice J Chelameswar said.
Senior lawyers Soli Sorabjee and Raju Ramachandran, appearing for Kanhaiya, replied that they came directly because SC "has been hearing petition relating to denial of justice in the case". To this, the judge retorted: "What is under scrutiny is something different …law and order situation in Patiala house, violence etc.… for bail you definitely approach the Delhi High Court".
Sorabjee then asked the bench to only decide "if there was a genuine apprehension of denial of justice or not to the bail applicant" after the violent incidents witnessed on two days at Patiala House Court.

Ramachandran said the High Court was also very close to Patiala House and was in the same hexagon. Lawyers and other "elements" from there could come there also. The judge then said in a lighter vein: "Sorry. If distance is the only criterion then we are equi-distant from Patiala house."
Ramachandran got support from senior counsel Rajeev Dhawan who was also in the courtappointed panel that was rushed to Patiala House on February 17 during fresh violence. He said: "People who have access to Patiala House have access to High Court also. Supreme Court is very secure as smart cards are required for a lawyer to enter."
Supporting SC's plan to move the bail plea to HC, Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar who appeared for the Delhi Police pointed out that there are several cases where movie stars, politicians and hardcore terrorists are produced in courts and similar situations exist. But the courts function smoothly.
"A message definitely should not go out that the High Court was not a safe place and not capable of holding hearings in such cases," he argued, after which the SC transferred the plea to HC.

Mohit Goel, the man behind world's cheapest phone Freedom 251, used to help around his dad's grocery shop..

Mohit Goel, Managing Director of Ringing Bells and the man behind Freedom 251, grew up helping around his father's grocery shop in Garhipukhta, Uttar Pradesh. Here's his story.

Mohit Goel/ Freedom 251. Source: Mohit Goel/ Facebook

Sitting at his small grocery shop in Garhipukhta, a small town in Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh, Rajesh Goel lauds his son's success.
Who is his son? No, he has nothing to do with JNU (as far as we know!)
Rajesh Goel is the father of Ringing Bells Managing Director Mohit Kumar Goel, the man who is making a lot of sound nationwide with his creation, Freedom 251.

You surely by now know what Freedom 251 is. Yep, the cheapest smartphone in the world that is being promised to cost just Rs 251.

While grocer Rajesh Goel doesn't quite get what the fuss regarding this phone and its price tag is about, he does understand his son has done 'something big', just as he always believed Mohit would.
Now one of the directors of Ringing Bells, Rajesh Goel told ET Telecom how after studying in Saint RC Convent School, Mohit moved to Noida and got an engineering degree from Amity University.
"The last time he was home to meet us, he had expressed his desire to open a company and I loaned him some money to start what he wanted to. Then he started a mobile phone company and told us about his venture."
"Little did we know what it meant then," says Goel. "It's really big, is it? We also attended the event where Freedom 251 mobile was launched in New Delhi."

Now the owner of the phone company Ringing Bells, Mohit grew up in Garhipukhta and often helped his father run the grocery shop, which sits with a name tag 'Ram ji' written on a grey board.
From sitting at this small shop, assisting his father, Mohit is now making promises of providing people with a fully-functioning Android phone at Rs 251.

Why Jats are protesting in Haryana: All you need to know..

Railway station, mall, several police and civilian vehicles and a minister's house set on fire, an armoury looted, highways dug up, rail tracks damaged. Jat protesters demanding reservation in jobs and education in Haryana have unleashed a reign of violence across the state.
Here is all that you need to know about Jat quota stir:
The Jat quota agitation has crippled Haryana for the second time in less than a year. The latest protest, however, has been more violent. This quota issue goes back to the 1990s.
Jats: The Jat community is primarily into farming. Traditionally, they are not considered backward. They are economically and politically well off. 29 per cent of Haryana's population comprise of the Jats.
Demand: Jats are demanding to be declared OBC (other backward class, which will help them secure the 27 per cent OBC reservation in government jobs.
What the Haryana govt offered them: Jats have rejected the Special Backward Class quota offered by the Khattar government on the basis of their economic status.
The Supreme Court's take: Hearing a plea of the Jats, the Supreme Court had made it clear that caste alone cannot be the reason to approve reservation for a certain community. The top court had said that to determine backwardness of a community, social backwardness should be the prime concern. The Supreme Court has capped caste based reservation upto 50 per cent and if the Haryana government succumbs to Jat pressure and add Jat quota to the present OBC reservation (27 per cent plus SC, ST quota of 22.5 per cent) it will be flouting Supreme Court's rules. 
Jat quota demand - History in brief
Ever since the controversial 1991 Mandal Commission report, Jats have been opposing to be mentioned in the OBC list of the Union government and other states.
In 1997, Jats in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh demanded them to be included in the central OBC list. It was reject by the National Commission for Backward Classes.
In 2012, a survey was conducted in six states on the directives of the commission to review the economical and social status of the Jats. States like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh were also included in the survey. In Haryana, the survey conducted compared the Jats to higher castes.
During 2004 Haryana Assembly election campaign, Congress's Bhupinder Singh Hooda promised Jats a quota. Hooda won the election.
Ahead of Assembly election in 2014, Hooda included Jats and four other castes in Specially Backward Class (SBC) quota.
However, in July 2015, the Punjab and Haryana High Court rejected the Hooda government's plan to give 10 per cent reservation to the Jats after the Supreme Court refused the state government's quota recommendations.
Centre's decision to include Jats from 9 states - Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar - in OBC list rejected by the Supreme Court in March, 2015.

Jat reservation stir Day 3: More violence in Rohtak, Delhi borders sealed, roads in Gurgaon blocked..

Army has been deployed in agitation-hit districts of Haryana as large scale violence by Jat community protesters left four people dead in firing by security forces. Authorities clamped curfew and issued "shoot-at-sight" orders in the worst-affected Rohtak and Bhiwani districts on Friday evening. The Army has been called in Rohtak, Hisar, Jind, Sonipat, Jhajjar, Bhiwani, Kaithal , Panipat.
At least four people were killed and nine others were seriously injured today near the Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) campus in Rohtak, Haryana, as police opened fire on Jat protesters seeking reservation.

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Here are the latest updates:

• "10 companies of Paramilitary forces have reached, another 23 are on their way," YP Singhal said.
• YP Singhal, Haryana DGP said, "In many places jams have opened up at the behest of the police." He also requested elders of the community to discourage the youth from protesting.
• According to sources, BJP president Amit Shah asks all Haryana BJP leaders to speak to the protestors and sort out the matter at the earliest.
• Delhi borders have been sealed to prevent protesters from entering the national capital. Major roads in Gurgaon blocked by agitators.
• Fresh incidents of violence in different areas of Rohtak district. Protesters set fire to Meham BDO office. In Kalanor, bus set on fire. Protesters also torch three school buildings on Guhana road.
• The Army conducted flag march in tense areas and used choppers to reach parts of Rohtak even as incidents of violence and arson by Jats demanding quota continued at several places.
• H-1 blocked by Jat protesters near Narela border in Delhi.
• Around 500 trains were affected, we had to cancel 72 trains yesterday. Routes passing through Panipat, Rohtak, Rewadi have been closed: Neeraj Sharma (CPRO Northern Rail)
• The Army used choppers to reach Rohtak as the agitators had dug up roads leading to the city.
• Protesters set on fire the Burha Kheda railway station in Jind.
• Army reaches in Hissar. Curfew imposed in Rohtak and Bhiwani. One BSF jawan injured in clashes with protesters.. Another youth was killed in separate incidence in Rohtak-Hissar highway.
• Total 716 trains affected by Jat agitation in Haryana till now. Disruptions caused by the ongoing Jat quota stir have caused a loss of Rs 200 crore to the railways as the schedules of more than 600 passenger and freight trains were hit, a railway ministry official said.
• Jat leaders rejected the offer made by Haryana government and asserted that their agitation would continue till their demand is met. "There is no solid offer made by Haryana government. BJP government is just trying to befool Jats as its intentions with regard to giving reservation to Jats is not clean," All India Jat Aarakshan Sangarsh Samiti's national president, Yashapal Malik said.
• Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Manohar Parrikar, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley reviewed the violence in Haryana late last night. 1,000 paramilitary personnel rushed to Haryana.
• Shoot-at-sight orders have been issued in curfew-bound city areas of violence-hit Rohtak and Bhiwani in Haryana.
• The protesters turned violent and set on fire the house of Haryana Finance Minister Captain Abhimanyu.
• Mobile Internet and SMS services remain suspended indefinitely by the authorities in violence-hit Rohtak in the wake of the agitation spreading in the district.

Trains cancelled

• Jammu Rajdhani
• Kalka Shatabdi
• Ludhiana shatabdi
• Amritsar Shatabdi
• Bhatinda Shatabdi
• Chandigarh Shatabdi

Jat leaders said that the agitation will not be withdrawn till the Khattar government comes out with substantive action on their demand for reservation for Jat community in government jobs and educational institutions.

Muslim man donates truck to carry vegetables to Tirupati temple..

A Muslim man from Chennai has donated a refrigerator truck to famous Tirupati temple for transporting vegetables.
The vehicle, worth Rs 35 lakh, was flagged off on February 15 by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
The truck, with eight tonne capacity, was donated by one Abdul Gani, and will be used for transporting vegetables to the shrine for its "Nitya Annadan (food donation)" scheme.
The vegetables for the scheme have been donated by one Mandava Kutumba Rao and his family members since 2007.

Suicide bomber kills at least 13 recruits at Yemen army camp..

A suicide bomber killed at least 13 recruits at a Yemeni army camp run by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's government in the southern port city of Aden on Wednesday, medical sources and a security official said.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a series of bombings rattling the city since Saudi-backed forces captured Yemen's second-largest city from the Iran-allied Houthis in July last year.
At least 60 people were also wounded in the attack targeting hundreds of new recruits at the Ras Abbas camp in Aden's Buraiqa district. It was recently set up by Hadi's government to absorb new conscripts being trained to fight the Houthis.
The official said the bomber was disguised in military uniform used by the new recruits, enabling him to penetrate the crowd undetected inside the camp.
An official earlier said the attack occurred at the gate.
Witnesses described ambulances racing to evacuate the wounded, as troops surrounded the area to keep onlookers away.
"The explosion shook the camp violently and it could be heard miles away," one witness told Reuters by telephone.
Medics at the nearby Masafi hospital said they had received the bodies of 13 people, while at least 60 wounded people were taken to hospitals in Aden.
Islamic State, in a statement published on its online media arm Amaq, said that a bomber wearing an explosives vest blew himself up at the Ras Abbas camp. The group published a photo of the attacker it identified as Abu Isa al-Ansari, and said the bombing "killed around 20 apostates and wounded 60 others".
Residents had said that Islamic State, one of several armed groups that operate in southern Yemen, had recently warned young Yemenis against joining the army being set up by Hadi's government.
On Tuesday, Aden's governor and security director survived a gun attack by unknown assailants on their convoy in the city.
Last month, a suicide bomber killed six people in an attack on a checkpoint on the road leading to Hadi's presidential palace in Aden.