The Catch Up: 4 April

It’s the 2nd of April and here are today's headlines.

The Supreme Court today granted bail to Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh in a money laundering case relating to excise policy irregularities. The Enforcement Directorate filed a chargesheet against Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP, who was then arrested on 4th of October, following 10 hours of searches at his North Avenue home, in the matter.

The Congress party has released the 11th list of 17 candidates for Lok Sabha election 2024 today. The list includes names of candidates fielded from Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal. According to the list, the party has fielded Y S Sharmila Reddy from Kadapa seat, which is a stronghold of the Reddy family and is currently represented by Sharmila’s cousin Avinash Reddy from YSR Congress Party.

The Supreme Court today said it was not inclined to accept the apology tendered by Baba Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna. They had submitted a response to notices asking to show cause as to why contempt of court proceedings should not be initiated against them for allegedly flouting its directions. The apex court, however, gave them a last opportunity to file fresh responses. The court was upset about an advertisement issued by the company after it had assured the court that it would not make any “casual statements claiming medicinal efficacy or against any system of medicine”.

India has not sent any official communication yet on the Katchatheevu island issue, a senior Sri Lanka minister told The Indian Express. Jeevan Thondaman, a Tamil-origin minister in President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Cabinet, said, quote, "As far as Sri Lanka is concerned, Katchatheevu island falls within the Sri Lankan line of control. Narendra Modi’s foreign policy with Sri Lanka is organic and healthy. So far, there has not been an official communication from India to return the powers of Katchatheevu island. No such request from India so far. If there is such a communication, the foreign ministry will reply to that."

6 international aid workers with the World Central Kitchen charity and their Palestinian driver were killed in an “apparent” Israeli airstrike today, while they were delivering food to Gaza. The food charity, which was founded by celebrity chef José Andrés, has suspended operations in the region. Commenting on the reports, the Israeli military said it was conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of what it called a tragic incident.

This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.