CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has held that it is not necessary for a woman to get the permission of her husband and take his signature before applying for a passport before the authority. Justice N Anand Venkatesh gave the ruling in a recent order while disposing of a petition filed by Revathy. She sought a direction to the authorities to issue a fresh passport without insisting signature from her husband in a time bound manner. The case of the petitioner was that she got married in the year 2

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary N. Muruganandam and his predecessor Shiv Das Meena to appear before the court on July 21, 2025 in connection with a suo motu contempt of court case. The case was initiated over alleged non-compliance with the courts 2023 directives regarding appointments on compassionate grounds. Justice Battu Devanand, who presided over the hearing on Friday, ordered that statutory notices be issued to both officers. Issue statutory notice t

TENKASI: A major mishap was narrowly avoided near Idaikal in Tenkasi district after the rear axle of a government TNSTC bus detached while it was in motion on the Thirumangalam-Kollam National Highway on Friday. Of the 87 passengers on board, four sustained minor injuries. The bus, operated by TNSTCs Srivilliputhur depot in Virudhunagar district, was being driven by 52-year-old Sankaran of Vathirayiruppu. The vehicle was travelling from Madurai to Courtallam when the incident occurred. Sources r

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Friday granted an interim stay on all further proceedings initiated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against film producer Akash Bhaskaran and businessman Vikram Ravindran in connection with the alleged TASMAC money laundering case. A division bench comprising Justices M.S. Ramesh and V. Lakshminarayanan passed the interim orders on petitions filed by the two individuals, observing that the ED's search operations lacked jurisdiction due to the absence of incr

CUDDALORE: Welfare assistance worth Rs 30.09 crore was distributed to 2,254 beneficiaries as part of the third phase of special camps under the Makkaludan Mudhalvar scheme in Cuddalore district. The event, inaugurated by Labour Welfare and Skill Development Minister CV Ganesan on Thursday was held in the presence of Collector Sibi Adhithya Senthil Kumar, Cuddalore MP MK Vishnu Prasad, and Neyveli MLA Saba Rajendran. The camps were organised at Thiruvamur Government Higher Secondary School, Visur

VELLORE: The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) has significantly reduced its annual losses to Rs 800 crore, down from previous years, says Managing Director J Radhakrishnan announced on Thursday. The board reported a revenue of Rs 70,000 crore this fiscal, aided by a Rs 17,000 crore subsidy from the state government and an additional Rs 17,000 crore allocated to offset losses. Prudent financial management and government support have helped curtail losses, Radhakrishnan said during an inspectio

PUDUCHERRY: The Indira Gandhi Government General Hospital and Post Graduate Institute (IGGGH & PGI), Puducherry, has successfully conducting three kidney transplants within just three weeks. The procedures included two cadaver transplants and one live-related transplant. The transplants were performed under the leadership of Dr K Sudhakar, head of urology and transplant unit, and Dr Kumar, head of nephrology. Among the recipients were a 36-year-old woman and a 46-year-old man who received kidney

TIRUNELVELI: In a bid to make Tirunelveli a no drop-out district and achieve a 100% college enrolment, collector Dr R Sukumar appealed to teachers and college faculties to alert the district administration if they come across any Class 12 dropouts. He also asked the authorities to keep a check on those students who have lost their parents. The collector was speaking at a special higher education guidance camp held at the Collectorate on Tuesday. In the 2024-25 academic year, 14,847 students appe

THOOTHUKUDI: Farmers raised strong concerns over pollution of the Melakal canal and demanded reforms in water distribution from the Thamirabarani river during the agriculture grievance redressal meeting held in the district on Thursday. The meeting, chaired by District Revenue Officer (DRO) A Ravichandran, was attended by officials from the agriculture, revenue, and other departments. P Arumuganainar, a farmer from V Kovilpathu near Seithunganallur, complained that civic bodies in Vittilapuram,

COIMBATORE: The city police have arrested a 37-year-old Theni native in connection with smuggling of sandalwood from the judges' quarters at Redfields on Tuesday. Police said the arrested person has been identified as Vinoth Kumar of Gudalur in Theni district. They added that the accused had also committed the same offence at the same location seven years ago. He was arrested by Race Course police on Tuesday night and remanded to prison on Wednesday. Sources said the incident occurred at the Jud

DHARMAPURI: A General Committee meeting of the PMK held in Dharmapuri on Thursday passed over 17 resolutions, including implementation of the Cauvery Surplus Water Scheme, improvement of rural roads, and implementation of the pending water management scheme, among other resolutions. PMK President Dr Anbumani Ramadoss who spoke at the meeting took a jibe at party veteran GK Mani who has been hospitalised amid speculation that he did so to avoid the party meeting. Has the honorary president of the

COIMBATORE: The School Education Department has revoked the Coimbatore Chief Educational Officer's (CEO) order for the compulsory retirement of an art teacher at Government Higher Secondary School in Alandurai, on the city's outskirts. SA Rajkumar, the art teacher who exposed the sexual harassment of a girl student at the same school, was suspended by CEO R Balamurali in 2023 over allegations of dereliction of duty. Later, the CEO issued his compulsory retirement in 2024. When Rajkumar appealed

TIRUPPUR: A 13-year-old boy died by suicide after he was allegedly scolded by his parents for his addiction to gaming applications on mobile phone, said police. The deceased was Siddharth, son of Sathishkumar from Ayyan Thottam at Alangiyam near Dharapuram in Tiruppur district. He was a Class 7 student at a private school, said police sources. His mother scolded him on Tuesday evening after he was seen continuously playing games on the mobile phone after returning from school. Upset about it, th

CHENNAI: In a significant judgment on the applicability of the provisions of the Maintenance and Care of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, that allows cancellation of settlement (gift) deeds by parents over lack of care by children, the Madras High Court has ruled that only the person who had transferred the property can seek its cancellation. The order passed by Justice N Anand Venkatesh also said that for the deed to be cancelled for noncompliance, it must have a specific condition that m

TIRUPPUR: Twenty-five Bangladeshi nationals were arrested from a textile export unit near Palladam in Tiruppur district on Wednesday night, for staying with fabricated documents. They were caught in a surprise joint operation led by a special team reporting to the district police superintendent, the Q Branch, and the Palladam police. Following the crackdown, all the 25 Bangladeshi nationals were handed over to Palladam police and arrested under the Foreigners Act. A police team, acting on a tip-

CHENNAI: The state government is actively considering a proposal from the Ambattur Industrial Estate Manufacturers Association (AIEMA) seeking the allocation of 1,000 acres of land to establish a new industrial estate within a 50 km radius of Chennai. Delivering the inaugural address at the 16th edition of ACMEE 2025, Chief Minister M K Stalin said the request submitted by AIEMA president RSS Satish Babu will certainly be considered. Babu, in his remarks, highlighted the space constraints manufa

CHENNAI: The Kancheepuram district police on Thursday registered an FIR against the principal of a government girls higher secondary school in Sriperumbudur under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for allegedly criminally intimidating a tribal Irular parent who had approached her seeking a transfer certificate for her daughter. The FIR has been filed against Gnana Selva Jothi, the principal of Sriperumbudur Girls Higher Secondary School, who is currently absconding. The action follows a p

CHENNAI: The QS World University Rankings 2026, which was released on Thursday, presented a mixed bag of results for the state. While the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has made its debut in the top 200 in the rank list, securing 180th position, Anna Universitys ranking has slipped from 383rd position to 465th rank this year. IIT Madras has made an impressive leap of 47 places from last years 227th rank to 180th rank this year, while Anna Universitys rank dipping by 82 places

CHENNAI: Chief Minister M K Stalin is expected to attend the first event to take place at the rejuvenated Valluvar Kottam, renovated and modernised at `80 crore, on June 21. Persons with disabilities will be thanking the CM for passing legislation ensuring their representation in all local bodies during the event. The monument is not only an iconic landmark of Chennai today but also holds a significant place in the states political history. DMK spokesperson T K S Elangovan said, It was our leade

MADURAI: Observing that repeated accidents in firecracker manufacturing units denote the failure of regulatory bodies in discharging their duties, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court gave a series of directions and suggestions to the state government and Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) on enhancement of compensation, scrutinisation of licensing practices, cause-based investigation into accidents, and structured rehabilitation framework for victims families, among other

NILGIRIS: A 65-year-old man was trampled to death by a wild elephant at Machikolli in Devarsholai Panchayat near Gudalur on Wednesday night. The deceased, B Arumugam, was found dead on the road by his son near their house at 8 pm on Wednesday. Arumugams relatives and local people didnt allow the police to take the body to the Gudalur Government Hospital for postmortem. The protesters relented after District Forest Officer (Gudalur) Venkatesh Prabhu and Gudalur Deputy Superintendent of Police Va

CHENNAI: DMK president and Chief Minister MK Stalin accused the BJP-led union government of attempting to suppress and bury the pride of Tamil culture that emerged through the Keezhadi excavations. Praising the DMK student wing for organising an agitation - Keezhadi Engal Thaimadi - in Madurai on June 18, Stalin wrote a detailed letter in Murasoli , the DMKs mouthpiece, emphasising the importance of the excavation findings. The protest was held to condemn the union government for not approving t

CHENNAI: A Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) staff was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly cheating a man of Rs 17.5 lakh by promising government jobs and issuing fake appointment orders. The accused, Muthuraman (55) of Otteri, who works as an assistant in the Tondiarpet zone of the city corporation, was arrested from Kundrathur. According to the police, the complaint was lodged by Jaysankar (49), who alleged that he had paid Rs 17.5 lakh to Muthuraman and his wife Usharani in January last year

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has turned down the union governments directive to distribute three months entitlement of rice and wheat in advance to NFSA (National Food Security Act) cardholders. In May, the Union Food department had asked Tamil Nadu and other states to supply food grains for June, July, and August at one go to NFSA beneficiaries. It had directed the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to coordinate with the state government for advance lifting and distribution. The centre attr

CHENNAI: PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss on Thursday dismissed party working president Anbumani Ramadoss allegation that the DMK was attempting to destablise the Pattali Makkal Katchi by fuelling a rift within ahead of the 2026 Assembly election, calling it a blatant lie. Speaking to reporters during a visit to Chennai, Ramadoss categorically denied any external involvement in the ongoing tussle within the party. What would the DMK gain by doing such a thing? he asked, terming Anbumanis charge a fabri

COIMBATORE: PMK working president Anbumani Ramadoss urged party workers to work hard to defeat the DMK in Salem district. Speaking at the district general council meeting of the party in Salem on Thursday, Ramadoss said Chief Minister MK Stalin has betrayed the Vanniyar community by not implementing the 10.5% reservation. He vowed that the PMK would work to defeat the DMK by ensuring the Dravidian party gets no assembly seats in the district. I am confident that the Vanniyar community as a whole

KRISHNAGIRI: Police on Thursday registered an FIR at two stations in Rayakottai and Denkanikottai following the report about underage mothers using tampered Aadhaar cards to show a higher age for evading child marriage arrest. TNIE on Wednesday carried an article titled Bride and prejudice: Aadhaar fudged to mask child marriages in Krishnagiri , wherein it was reported how the date of birth in Aadhaar cards of six child brides was allegedly changed by their relatives to evade arrest in child ma

MADURAI: People of Tamil Nadu will defeat the politics of religion which is practised by Sangh Parivar in northern states, VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan said. Speaking after taking part in a human chain protest organised by the Madurai Federation for Religious Harmony on Thursday to oppose the Murugan Maanadu, Thirumavalvan said through the protest, people of TN are conveying to the world that they are against religious politics. In northern states Sangh Parivar used religious politics to divide

KALLAKURICHI: A year after the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy claimed 38 lives, families of the victims gathered in Karunapuram on Thursday to mark the first anniversary with a solemn memorial, demanding justice and long-term rehabilitation for the affected community. Family members lit candles and garlanded portraits of the deceased, many breaking down as they remembered their loved ones. G Preetha, sister of G Praveen (28), who was one of the victims, said, It has been a year, but justice is still

RAMANATHAPURAM: A 40-year-old fisherman went missing after his boat capsized mid-sea in the wee hours on Thursday. Three of his colleagues were rescued by fishermen who were in other boats According to an official in the fisheries department, 445 mechanised boats ventured out in the evening on June 18 from Mandapam. In the wee hours, a boat (IND-TN-11-MM-314) which was carrying four fishermen sunk mid-sea due to technical issues. Immediately some fishermen who were nearby came to their rescue. T

CHENNAI: DMKs Chennai Central MP Dayanidhi Maran has sent a legal notice to his brother Kalanithi Maran, who owns the Sun media empire, accusing him of taking over the company through fraudulent and illegal transfer of shares just before and after the demise of their father, DMK leader and former union minister, Murasoli Maran in November 2003. The legal notice, with explosive allegations, has brought to the fore the rift within the DMKs first family. Murasoli Maran was the nephew and close aide

CHENNAI: In line with Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedis vision to equip every soldier with a drone, the Dakshin Bharat Area has set up a dedicated drone MRO lab at the Madras Regimental Centre, Wellington, in partnership with Chennai-based Zuppa. The initiative marks a strategic shift in the militarys approach to unmanned aerial systems (UAS), placing greater emphasis not only on frontline drone deployment but also on in-theatre repair, diagnostics, and self-reliance. The effort follows lessons dr

TIRUCHY: Musiri Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) died after her official vehicle collided with a government TNSTC bus and a JCB, following a tyre burst near Jeeyapuram in Tiruchy district. The deceased was P Aramutha Devasena (55) from Mettupatti village in Pudukkottai district. The driver, V Prabhakar (51) from Thuraiyur, was seriously injured. According to police sources, Aramutha Devasena has been the RDO of Musiri for over a year. On Thursday morning, she was travelling in her official vehic

CHENNAI: Gold seizures by Customs authorities at the Chennai international airport have reduced by half in 2024-25 compared to the previous year. As per official data sourced through RTI, Chennai Customs seized around 310kg of gold worth Rs 166 crore in 560 cases from April 2023 to March 2024. The seizures dropped to 160kg of gold worth Rs 110 crore across 233 cases from April 2024 to March 2025. The number of arrests made by Customs authorities, however, increased from 72 to 106 over the past o

MADURAI: DMK deputy general secretary and Rajya Sabha member Tiruchi N Siva on Wednesday said the BJP-led union government could not take on the DMK politically, and has unleashed a cultural and ideological war against Tamil people by refusing to accept the facts of Keezhadi despite it being presented with scientific evidence. Speaking at a protest organised by the DMK student wing in Madurai to urge the Union government to accept the Keezhadi report filed by archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna,

DINDIGUL: A womans alleged illicit relationship has led to the death of four members of her family, as her mother and grandmother killed themselves after strangulating the womans two minor daughters, aged five and seven, at Oddanchatram in Dindigul district on Wednesday morning. According to police sources, Kaleeswari (45) was residing with daughter Pavithra (25) and mother Chellammal (65) at Chinna Kulipatti village of Oddanchatram after her husbands death several years ago. The woman had marri

CHENNAI: Minister for Minorities Welfare and Non-Resident Tamils on Wednesday handed over a financial assistance of Rs 8,000 and essential commodities worth Rs 4,000 to those who have lost their houses in the eviction drive at the Madrasi Camp in South Delhi recently. Chief Minister M K Stalin, on June 16, sanctioned Rs 50 lakh for providing the assistance. An official release said seven counters were set up in Tamil Nadu House for checking the documents of the beneficiaries, and transport facil

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Wednesday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which sought a direction to constitute an expert committee to finalise the renovation and repair works in Subramaniya Swamy temple at Tiruchendur. A bench of justices S M Subramaniam and A D Maria Clete observed that such a committee had been already formed by the state government, based on a direction issued by the court on April 24. If at all, the petitioner is of the opinion that any cust

ERODE: Unidentified miscreants attempted to derail the Yercaud-Chennai Express by placing an iron rail across the tracks near Magudanchavadi in Salem district. It is alleged that three judges of the Madras High Court were travelling on that train. Sources said the train from Erode to Chennai Central had departed as usual on Tuesday night. The train was travelling between Mavelipalayam and Magudanchavadi railway stations at 9.45 pm. At that time, the train engine rammed into a piece of railway tr

KANNIYAKUMARI: The workers at Arasu rubber corporation factory in Keeriparai have been staging protest for more than 160 days, demanding Employees' State Insurance (ESI) benefits. As the factory is situated around a forested area, they are struggling to get attention from the state government from last six months. The Arasu Rubber Corporation has been functioning under the Tamil Nadu Department of Environment and Forest. It has 3,573 hectares of rubber plantations in Kanniyakumari district. Whil

CHENNAI/COIMBATORE: In a significant development in the ongoing investigation into the 2022 car blast case in Coimbatore, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested four more accused on Wednesday, for recruitment to the banned terrorist organisation Islamic State (IS). This takes the total arrests in the case across the state to eight. The arrested have been identified as Ahmed Ali, Jawahar Sathik, Raja Abdullah alias MAC Raja and Sheik Dawood. They had been allegedly radicalised by Jameel

COIMBATORE: Tamil Nadu forest department, with the help of a private company, has developed a trap cage that will be operated with a remote exclusively to capture wild boars that are damaging crops on farmlands and frequenting residential areas. The cage that can capture up to eight to 10 wild boars was developed based on the direction and idea from Chief Conservator of Forests and Field Director of Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) D Venkatesh to mitigate the wild boar intrusion in farmlands and res

CHENNAI: Panic prevailed at the Naan Mudhalvan faculty development programme (FDP), organised at University of Madras, Guindy campus, on Wednesday after the participating teachers found a dead lizard in the snack offered to them. The training programme was suspended after the incident. It was alleged that about 10 faculty members experienced uneasiness and vomited after having the snack. Over 100 teachers from various government arts and science colleges and schools in the city are participating

KRISHNAGIRI: Three school students of a panchayat union primary school (PUPS) near Shoolagiri were allegedly made to clean a classroom using a mop on Monday. In the video, three school students of the PUPS at U Sinigiripalli were cleaning the classroom using a mop. Following this, parents asked the school education department to take action against the school headmistress, Sailaja, on Wednesday. When TNIE spoke to Shoolagiri Block Education Officer, George, he said, The school has 39 students wi

TIRUPPUR: Two government-owned school buildings, including a fully functional anganwadi centre, have allegedly been encroached upon by private individuals in Velayuthampalayam village near Avinashi in Tiruppur district. The structures are allegedly being used by a private Lord Murugan temple for the past five years, forcing children attending the anganwadi to use a dilapidated and unsafe building on the same premises. Local residents and activists allege that unauthorised individuals, identifyin

CHENNAI: The elementary education department on Wednesday said that 3.12 lakh students have enrolled in government and government-aided schools across Tamil Nadu from LKG to Class 8 so far this academic year. This includes 22,757 students in LKG and UKG, 2.25 lakh in Class 1, and 65,391 in classes 2-8. Among Class 1 admissions, 1.73 lakh students opted for Tamil medium, while 52,057 chose English medium. The educational districts with the highest enrolment include Chennai (17,985), Chengalpattu

CHENNAI: Tamil writers Vishnupuram Saravanan and Lakshmihar have been chosen for the Bal Puraskar award and Yuva Puraskar award respectively for the year 2025 by the Sahitya Akademi, both in the category of childrens literature. The novel Ottrai Siragu Oviya by Saravanan has been chosen for Bal Puraskar award, while a short stories collection titled Koothondru Kooditru by Lakshmihar won the Yuva Puraskar award. Congratulating both writers, Chief Minister MK Stalin in a post on X said the book Ot

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, affiliated with the CPI, has urged the state government to immediately intervene and procure mangoes at Rs 20 per kg, including subsidy, to safeguard mango farmers who are facing distress due to falling prices. In a statement, the associations general secretary P S Masilamani said that due to a bumper harvest this year and lack of institutional procurement, mango prices have plummeted below Rs 4 per kg, forcing many farmers to dump their produce on roads o

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Wednesday said the state government authorities shall take action on the representations submitted by the public for redressing their grievances within 30 days as per a government order (GO), or else the court will impose costs. The first bench of Chief Justice K R Shriram and Justice Sunder Mohan issued the warning when a counsel requested the bench to take up a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking a direction to the government authority concerned

THANJAVUR: The summer paddy harvest in Thanjavur district is nearing completion, with farmers reporting a decent yield, albeit slightly below expectations. As per official data, the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) has so far procured 70,000 tonnes of paddy during the ongoing harvest season. According to the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, summer paddy was cultivated across 45,000 acres this year- an increase of 7,500 acres compared to the usual area covered during the s