Blast outside gate No. 5 of Delhi High Court; 24 injured.

An explosion has been reported outside Delhi High Court's Gate number 5 at 10:15 am. Eye witnesses say many are injured. Initial reports coming in take the number to 24. The injured have been taken to RML Hospital.

Two fire tenders have rushed to the scene. The police have cordoned off the area.

Gate number 5 is where the passes are made for litigants. The explosion happened right outside the 

India gold futures seen higher at open

India gold futures are likely to open a tad higher on Wednesday morning, below its previous day's record, following similar trend in overseas market, though a stronger rupee could keep the upside in prices limited, analysts said.

* The most-active gold for October delivery on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) last closed 1.8 percent lower at 27,969 rupees per 10 grams, reversing from an early record of 28,744 rupees.

* Overseas spot gold rebounded as much as 0.8 percent from a sharp slide off the record high in the previous session, as the metal's appeal remained undimmed to investors keen to seek safety during a period of heightened worry about the euro zone's debt crisis.

* The rupee rose in tandem with gains in domestic equities and most Asian currencies. The rupee plays an important role in determining the landed cost of the yellow metal and red metal, which is quoted in dollars.

COPPER

Copper futures are likely to open higher on Wednesday morning following global markets, although a strong rupee could weigh on the red metal later in the session, analysts said.

* The most-active copper for November delivery on the MCX closed 0.4 percent higher at 416.10 rupees per kg.

* London copper prices rose almost 1 percent to snap a three-day slide, as a series of labour disputes threatened output and helped offset persistent worries about the health of the global economy.

Cash-for-votes: Amar Singh, 3 others sent to jail

Rajya Sabha MP and former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh has been sent to 13-day judicial custody in the cash-for-votes scam. Amar Singh and three other accused - Faggan Singh Kulaste, Mahavir Singh Bhagora and Ashok Argal - will remain in jail till September 19.

The Tees Hazari court of Special Judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal rejected Amar Singh's plea of ill-health and his interim bail application. While Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Singh Bhagora are former MPs; Argal is also from the BJP and currently a Lok Sabha MP.

Earlier, Amar Singh tried to skip the court proceedings claiming that he was not well but the court asked his lawyer to ensure that he (Singh) was brought before the court.

BJP leader LK Advani's former aide Sudheendra Kulkarni also failed to personally appear before the court in response to its summons for his alleged role in the 2008 cash-for-vote scam.

Kulkarni's counsel sought the exemption on the ground that he was currently in the US and even court summons had not been served on him.

Amar Singh's lawyer Ashgar Khan sought exemption from appearance before the court urging that his client has recently undergone a kidney transplant and was suffering from various health problems including kidney infection and high blood pressure.

As the counsel filed a formal application for exemption for Singh from appearance, the court asked him to submit to it all the medical papers related to Singh's medical condition.

"Kindly show me the paper (medical report) when kidney transplant took place and what is his condition right now," the judge said.

At this, Singh's counsel sought two days to furnish all the medical papers to the court, but the judge ordered him to submit them by 12:30 pm on Tuesday itself, following which the Rajya Sabha MP appeared before the court.

Gold futures hit fresh peak of Rs 29,091 on global cues

Gold futures climbed to a fresh high of Rs 29,091 per 10 grams today, tracking a firming trend overseas as concerns about slowing economic growth and Europe's debt crisis spurred demand for the precious metal as a safe haven investment.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold for delivery in far-month February shot up by Rs 156, or 0.50%, to Rs 29,091 per 10 grams, with a business turnover of six lots.

The metal for delivery in October also rose by Rs 88, or 0.26%, to Rs 28,573 per 10 grams in 1,934 lots.

In a similar fashion, the precious metal for December delivery spurted by Rs 78, or 0.23%, to Rs 28,833 per 10 grams, clocking a business turnover of 183 lots.

Market analysts attributed the skyrocketing gold futures prices, which hit an all-time high, to a firming trend overseas as renewed fears over the euro zone debt crisis and concerns about stalled global growth boosted the attractiveness of the precious metal in investors' eyes.

Meanwhile, spot gold prices gained 0.6% to USD 1,911.07 an ounce in the Asian region, inching toward their all-time high of USD 1,913.50 per ounce achieved on August 23.

IOC says needs to raise petrol prices

State-run Indian Oil Corp said petrol prices need to be raised as revenue losses from selling the fuel at government controlled rates have widened more than seven-fold this month, head of finance PK Goyal said on Tuesday.

Revenue losses on petrol sales now stand at about three rupees compared to about 0.41 rupees a litre in the fortnight ending Aug. 31 due to an increase in Singapore spot prices of the fuel, he said.

"There is scope to raise petrol prices," Goyal told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference (APPEC). "In the last fortnight (ending Aug. 31), our revenue loss was 41 paise a litre. It has now risen to about three rupees."

State-run firms last raised petrol prices in mid-May by a record. The increase of 5 rupees a litre made the fuel costlier than in the world's biggest oil consumer United States, hurting local consumption. Slowing car sales in Asia's third-biggest economy has also curbed sales.

The government last year gave state-run firms permission to fix gasoline prices on their own, while retaining control over diesel, kerosene and cooking gas to protect the poor and tame stubbornly high inflation. Still, these companies need a nod from the government to increase gasoline prices.

State-run retailers get cash subsidy from the government and discount on crude and products purchased from state-run upstream firms to partly offset the losses.