Former BJD MLA Sunanda Das Joins BJP

As per the notification, the OCS Preliminary Examination is likely to be held on December 15, 2024.

“….The Commission has decided to conduct the Odisha Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination-2023, pursuant to Advt. No. 20 of 2023-24 tentatively on 15.12.2024 (Sunday). Detailed programme on the said examination shall notified later,” reads a notification issued by the OPSC.

The Commission also asked the candidates to visit its website (www.opsc.gov.in. ) time to time  to get updated information in this regard.

Notably, the Odisha Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2023-24 was earlier scheduled for October 27,2024. However, the exam was postponed due to the Cyclonic Storm Dana.

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A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud said that the licensing regime under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and the rules framed thereunder, when read as a whole, does not provide for a separate endorsement for operating a transport vehicle, if a driver already holds a LMV licence.

The CJI Chandrachud-led Bench clarified that the exceptions carved out by the legislature for special vehicles like e-carts and e-rickshaws, or vehicles carrying hazardous goods, will remain unaffected by its decision.

It said that the additional eligibility criteria as specified in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and rules framed thereunder will apply only to medium/heavy goods and passenger vehicles having gross weight above 7,500 Kg, adding that transport vehicle in the licensing scheme has to be understood only in the context of the medium/heavy vehicles.

In substance, the Constitution Bench, also comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy, P.S. Narasimha, Pankaj Mithal, and Manoj Misra, held that a driver holding a LMV licence can operate a transport vehicle without needing additional authorisation.

“For licensing purposes, LMVs and Transport Vehicles are not entirely separate classes. An overlap exists between the two. The special eligibility requirements will however continue to apply for, inter alia, e-carts, e- rickshaws, and vehicles carrying hazardous goods,” it said.

The five-judge Constitution Bench was seized of the reference where the correctness of the decision of a three-judge Bench in the Mukund Dewangan judgment has been doubted.

The 2017 Mukund Dewangan judgment had held that the need for a transport licence would arise in the case of medium/heavy goods and passenger vehicles only, adding that no other vehicle will require any separate endorsement, even if they are used for commercial purposes.

In other words, a holder of an LMV licence would not require any separate endorsement for commercial usage of LMVs like cars, vans, etc.

The Centre issued notifications and brought amendments to the Motor Vehicles Rules to bring them in conformity with the above judgment of the Supreme Court.

The 2017 judgment gave rise to various disputes over payment of claims by insurance companies in accident cases involving transport vehicles being driven by those having licences to drive LMVs and the matter was re-agitated at their instance.

In March 2022, a Bench headed by Justice U.U. Lalit (now retired) held that certain provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act were not noticed by the top court in its 2017 Mukund Dewangan decision and the issue needs to be re-visited by a five-judge Constitution Bench.

Now, the Constitution upheld the 2017 Mukund Dewangan judgment and refused to term the previous ruling “per incuriam” even if certain provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act and rules were not considered.

In the course of the oral hearing, CJI Chandrachud had remarked that the issue in question was not plainly "about interpreting law" but involved the "social impact of law" as well.

The Constitution Bench had asked the Union government to consider the impact on lakhs of people across the country who are engaged in driving commercial vehicles on the basis of the judgment in the Dewangan case as they will be "completely put out of their livelihood".

It had made repeated emphasis that the Union government should review the entirety of the position and then take an appropriate call.

--IANS

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"This will truly be the golden age of America. That's why this is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again”, he said at his West Palm Beach campaign headquarters.

Fox News Decision Desk, which analyses incoming counting data, had declared Trump the winner, while the other media were waiting to formally declare the victory and their data showed him on the brink of winning.

Trump said that he would carry at least 315 electoral college votes, having won four swing states and leading in three others.

He said that he was also winning the popular votes.

The Senate had flipped back to Republican control, he said, and the party was heading to retaining the House of Representatives.

Media has given 51 seats in the 100-member Senate, with seven results due.

A beaming Trump flanked by his family and running mate JD Vance and his wife, took the stage to chants of “USA, USA” from his supporters.

Meanwhile, the venue for Vice President Kamala Harris’s victory celebration at Howard University in Washington shut down by 1:30 am and her campaign announced that she had gone home and would speak later in the morning.

“America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate”, Trump said.

After an intense election campaign, Trump said, "We're going to help our country heal”.

He did not mention Harris or President Joe Biden or any Democrat, whom he had been verbally thrashing in his speech, either extending an olive branch or continuing the attacks.

Trump told his supporters, "I will fight for you, for your family, and your future. Every single day I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body"...

Listing his victories, Trump said, "We also have won the popular vote. That was great. Winning the popular vote was very nice, very nice. I will tell you a great feeling of love".

"We have taken back control of the Senate", he said. "It also looks like we'll be keeping control of the House of Representatives".

"We have a country that needs help, and it needs help very badly. We're going to fix our borders. We're going to fix everything about our country," he said.

Illegal migration was a major issue in the election and Trump threatened mass deportations of illegal migrants when he is elected.

"We're going to have to seal up those borders," he said, adding, "We want people to come back again… we have to let them come back in, but they have to come in legally".

Trump praised J D Vance, his running mate and his wife and family.

"He's turned out to be a good choice. I took a little heat at the beginning, but he was, I knew the brain was a good one, about as good as it gets," he said. "And we love the family... We're going to have a great four years”, he said.

Vance called their victory, “The greatest political comeback in the history of the United States of America".

"We're going to lead the greatest economic comeback in American history under Donald Trump's leadership", he said.

--IANS

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