Daily News Dose: SC orders release of Perarivalan, LDF ahead in local body bypolls and more | May 18, 2022

Hello, this is your daily dose of news from Onmanorama. I'm your host, Deepa, and these are the major news stories of the day:

1. Supreme Court orders release of A G Perarivalan, the convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case

2. LDF ahead in local body bypolls with 24 wins. BJP strikes in Ernakulam

3. Kerala Police to raise special teams to probe POSCO cases

4) Heavy rain lashes Kerala, IMD sounds red alert in 4 districts

5. Govt extends April GST payment deadline till May 24

6. India logs 1,829 fresh Covid cases and 33 deaths as per the latest figures

Let's get into the details:

Kerala will continue to witness heavy rainfall, according to an alert issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Revising the earlier predictions, the IMD sounded a Red alert in four districts including Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod districts on Wednesday. 

An Orange alert was issued in Thrissur, Palakkad and Malappuram districts, and a Yellow alert was declared in the rest of the districts.

The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, on Tuesday, said that the cyclonic circulation, which was situated near Lakshadweep area, 

has moved towards Kerala, and predicted isolated heavy rains in some parts of the state.

Squally winds with speeds of 40 to 50 kilometer per hour,  gusting to 60 kilometer per hour,  are likely  over the Gulf of Mannar and Comorin area, along and off the south Tamil Nadu coast, the adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal, Southeast Arabian Sea, Andaman sea and the adjoining southeast East central Bay of Bengal.

The IMD said that fishermen are advised not to venture into these sea areas. Kerala too has been experiencing heavy rainfall for the past few days, and it has disrupted normal life in certain areas of the state.

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2. Invoking its extraordinary power under Article 142 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the release of A G Perarivalan. 

He has already served over 30 years in jail, in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

A bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao said, the Tamil Nadu state cabinet's advice recommending the premature release of all seven convicts in the case 

was binding on the governor.

The apex court also discarded the Centre's argument that the president exclusively has the power to grant pardon in a case under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, saying this would render article 161, which gives the governor the power to grant pardon, functionless.

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3. The results of the bypolls, held in 42 wards of various local self-government bodies in Kerala, were announced on Wednesday, with the ruling LDF making gains. 

As per the latest tally, the LDF has won 24 wards, followed by UDF in 12 and the NDA in 6. 

The bypolls were held in the wards in 12 districts, excluding Wayanad and Kasaragod, on Tuesday. 

In all, 182 candidates were in the fray, and the by-elections were held in 2 municipal corporation wards, 7 municipal wards, two block panchayat divisions and 31 panchayat wards.

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4. In view of the ever-increasing child abuse cases, Kerala Police is planning to strengthen investigation into POCSO cases. 

This follows an earlier Supreme Court directive to ensure that the investigation is completed in a time-bound manner in such cases. 

Kerala State police chief Anil Kant has submitted a recommendation to the government, for setting up special teams in all police districts, 

for probing cases where children are targeted. A total of 380 officers will be needed, across 20 police districts as part of the plan.

There are a total of 20 police districts, including city and rural, in the state. 

In each of the police districts, a 19-member team, led by an officer in the Deputy Superintendent of Police rank, will be formed.

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5. As taxpayers face technical glitches on the GST portal, the government on Tuesday extended the due date for April tax payment till May 24. 

Earlier on Wednesday, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs had said that a technical glitch has been reported 

in the generation of the April GSTR – 2B and the auto-population of GSTR-3B on the portal. The authorities are working on fixing the glitch, at the earliest. 

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6. India logs 1,829 fresh Covid cases and 33 deaths as per the  latest figures of the Union Health Ministry. 

This takes the nationwide death toll to 5 lakh 24 thouand 293. 

The active case load has marginally declined to 15,647 cases, and India's recovery rate stands at 98.75, as of now. 

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That brings us to the end of this episode. Be sure to come back tomorrow. As always, thanks for listening to Daily News Dose.