Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao today assured a delegation of Sikhs that he will take up the matter of providing adequate security to Gurudwaras in the state, with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Rao gave the assurance to a 20-member delegation of members of the Sikh community from Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, who met him at Raj Bhavan under the aegis of Maharashtra Sikh Association.

The delegation presented a memorandum to the Governor expressing deep “anguish and concern” of the community spread across the world over the alleged desecration of the Holy Guru Granth Sahib by anti-social and communal elements in a village in Punjab and the subsequent killing of two Sikhs in Faridkhot, Punjab, who were protesting the incident.

The delegation also requested the Governor to tighten internal security in Maharashtra and to provide extra security to the Gurudwaras in the state, a Raj Bhavan spokesperson said.

The Governor assured the delegation that he will take up the matter with the chief minister immediately.

The Centre has informed the Bombay High Court that it was ready to look into the grievances of people about the new guidelines on child adoption issued by Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

This was conveyed by Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Anil Singh to a bench headed by Justice V M Kanade which was hearing a public interest litigation challenging the new CARA guidelines.

During the course of hearing, the bench inquired about objection raised by Missionaries of Charity founded by Mother Teresa to these guidelines, to which the government said it was ready to hear grievances of people/organistions in this regard.

The PIL has been filed by an adoptive parent and an unwed mother questioning the revised guidelines.

The petitioners have challenged the online selection procedure, where out of six children the prospective adoptive parent or parents had to choose only one, failing which they would go to the bottom of the waiting list.

The ASG said that before framing new guidelines, suggestions were invited but if still there are objections and complaints, the parties would be heard and attempt will be made to resolve their grievances.

The bench said it appeared that the state government had no role to play in the new guidelines and felt that the Centre and the state should coordinate among themselves.

The Federation of Adoption Agencies in Maharashtra also filed an intervention application, saying they were opposed to online procedure of intra and inter-country adoptions because not many people may be familiar with the technology.

However, the court asked the federation to file a separate petition on this issue and did not allow their intervention.

The HC has posted the matter for hearing on October 28.

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s lawyer questioned in the Bombay High Court the legal value of the evidence adduced by prosecution about the actor driving his car under the influence of liquor when it met with an accident in September 2002.

“Such a piece of evidence should be discarded as it did not have any evidential value,” argued advocate Amit Desai in the high court, which is hearing an appeal filed by Salman against the five-year sentence awarded to him by the trial court on May 6.

The actor was held guilty of ramming his car into a bakery in Bandra on September 28, 2002, killing one person and injuring four others who were sleeping outside on the pavement.

During the trial, the prosecution relied only on the evidence of Ravindra Patil, the then police bodyguard of Salman, who passed away in 2007, Desai said.

Patil had lodged FIR on the day of the mishap but didn’t mention that Salman was driving and was drunk. He mentioned this only two days later before the magistrate, when he said Salman had taken drinks on that evening, and he had asked the actor to drive slow.

Desai referred to Patil’s cross-examination before the magistrate during the earlier trial in 2007, when he had admitted to being silent on these aspects in the FIR.

So his statement before the magistrate implicating Salman does not have any evidential value, Desai argued.

The actor is currently out on bail. Arguments would continue on Wednesday.

Maharashtra NCP president Sunil Tatkare, who is under investigation for irregularities in the Rs 614-crore Kondhane irrigation project in Raigad district, appeared before the Anti-Corruption bureau (ACB).

The project was approved by the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation on July 22, 2011, when Tatkare was its chairman.

It was found that on July 22, the cost of the project was Rs 56 crore, however, in a brief span of less than a month, it increased to Rs 320 crore and a year later it further escalated to Rs 614 crore.

It was also observed that the contract for the construction of the project was awarded to one FA Enterprises, despite the fact that there was no approval either from the forest or environment department and that there was blatant violation of tender conditions.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who was then leader of the opposition, had demanded a high level probe into the major irrigation projects across the state.

In fact, Fadnavis had then lodged a complaint with the ACB to demand a probe by a special investigation team.

After Fadnavis took over as chief minister in December last year, he asked the ACB to conduct an open inquiry against NCP leaders Tatkare, Ajit Pawar and Chhagan Bhujbal.

Pawar is under investigation for irregularities in the Kalu and Balganga irrigation projects, while Bhujbal’s name figured in the Maharashtra Sadan scam.

When they were initially summoned on May 10, Pawar and Tatkare did not appear before the ACB.

The ACB then sent them a questionnaire on the allotment of contracts. Accordingly, they submitted their contentions, but it was not accepted by the ACB which instead summoned them.