Panaji (Goa) [India], April 3 (ANI): Goa Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Sunday allocated portfolios to his cabinet colleagues while retaining crucial Home and Finance departments with himself.

New Delhi Feb 27 PTI He has straddled both worlds of Judiciary and Executive After a nearly two-and-a-half-year stint as Union Law Secretary Anoop Kumar Mendiratta returns to the judicial domain as a judge of the Delhi High Court He is likely to take oath as a judge on Monday Mehendiratta a Delhi Judicial Service officer has achieved a rare distinction of sorts in his donning the twin hats He was the first district judge to have been appointed as the Union Law Secretary His return to the realm of the judiciary also sets another record -- Mehendiratta is the first Union Law Secretary to have been appointed as the judge of a high court Mehendiratta took his first steps in the legal world as an advocate in 1987 when he worked under Justice Valmiki J Mehta while he was a practicing advocate and later onwithPandit R K Sharma Naseem Saheb at Delhi High Court and district courts Born and brought up in Delhi Mendirattacompleted his schooling at Salwan Public School After graduation from Delhi University he completed his LLB from Campus Law Centre Delhi University in 1987 As a member of the Delhi Judicial Service he workedin different specialised jurisdictions relating to DDA land acquisition cases electricity NDPS CBI MACT and family courts during a large part of his career The posting as the first joint secretary Law Justice and Legislative Affairs in the Delhi governmentfrom the judicial services helped him to get actively involved in drafting and formulation of laws as well as in the process of formulation of Report for Bifurcation of judicial districts in Delhi The exposure to specialised jurisdictions and large administrative issues provided a platform to him tolater on join the Delhi government as Principal Secretary Law Justice and Legislative Affairs He also looked after the charge of the Delhi Dispute Resolution Society DDRS as the working chairperson and also conducted mediation proceedings being a trained mediator In October 2019 when Mendiratta was appointed as the Union Law Secretary he was the District and Sessions Judge North-East District Karkardooma Courts Usually the posts of secretary legal affairs also called the law secretary and secretary legislative department are held by Indian Legal Service officers But as the government was looking for talent outside the Indian Legal Service to fill up the post of the law secretary it had advertised for interested persons to apply At least 60 people including government officers district judges advocates and legal experts had applied for the post PTI NAB SKU RT RT RT

Mumbai Dec 21 PTI The Opposition on Tuesday skipped the customary tea party hosted by the Maharashtra government here on the eve of winter session of the state legislature which is likely to be a stormy affair with the BJP indicating it will seek to corner the three-party ruling alliance on a number of issuesChief Minister Uddhav Thackeray also did not attend the tea party He underwent a spine surgery in a private hospital here in November and was discharged earlier this monthThe winter session of the Maharashtra legislature usually held in Nagpur is being conducted in Mumbai this time from December 22 to 28A decision to extend the session further will be taken on December 24 Legislative Affairs minister Anil Parab had said last monthEleven bills and one appropriation bill are slated to be tabled during the session he saidThe winter session is usually held in Nagpur known as the second capital of the state The minister said a decision on which session will be conducted in Nagpur to compensate for the city not hosting the winter session will be taken after a meeting with the CMSince Thackeray wanted to attend the session it was decided to shift the venue to Mumbai for the winter session Parab had addedEarlier in the day Devendra Fadnavis the Leader of the Opposition in the assembly said the BJP will raise the issue of the Maha Vikas Aghadi governments failure in protecting the political reservation for OBCs in local bodies and demand a CBI probe into alleged malpractices in the recruitment process for various departments of the state governmentThe former CM said the BJP will also raise the messed up disbursement of crop insurance to calamity-hit farmers among other issues on the floor of the legislature PTI PR RSY RSY

Mumbai Nov 29 PTI The winter session of the Maharashtra legislature will be held in Mumbai instead of Nagpur from December 22 to 28 state Legislative Affairs Minister Anil Parab said on Monday The decision to shift the venue of the session from Nagpur to Mumbai is taken considering the health of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray The CM had undergone spine surgery earlier this month and he has been advised not to make journeys that require flying Since the chief minister wanted to remain present for the session it was decided to shift the venue to Mumbai for the winter session Parab told reporters after attending the meeting of the Business Advisory Council BAC He said a decision to extend the duration of the session will be taken on December 24 Parab said in the first week the session will be held on December 22-24 Eleven bills and one appropriation bill will be tabled he said As per the convention the winter session of the state legislature is held in Nagpur the second capital of Maharashtra every year Parab also said a decision on which session will be conducted in Nagpur will be taken after a meeting with the chief minister PTI PR NSK NSK

Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], November 23 (ANI): The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution withdrawing its earlier resolution seeking the abolishing of the Legislative Council.