Amid the escalating political tension in Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court on 13 February is likely to hear the plea seeking a stay on the swearing-in ceremony of AIADMK General Secretary Sasikala Natarajan.

This comes after the top court last week refused to grant an urgent hearing on a PIL that sought to put on hold Sasikala's swearing-in as Tamil Nadu chief minister till it passed judgment in the disproportionate assets case against her.

A bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice NV Ramana and Justice DY Chandrachud said "sorry declined" as the petitioner urged the bench to hear the plea.

The PIL was filed by Chennai resident Senthil Kumar, General Secretary of NGO Satta Panchayat Iyakkam. Kumar has contended that if Sasikala is convicted and is forced to resign, there is a possibility of riots erupting all over Tamil Nadu.

20-year old worker Nirmal was stabbed to death during celebrations at a festival in a temple here.

The BJP state unit has alleged the Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPM was behind the incident and has called for a strike in the district today.

The conflict between the BJP-RSS alliance and the CPI(M) has been on a rise for the past few months. Earlier last month, the BJP accused the (CPI(M)) for the murder of one of its workers. A 52-year old BJP worker, Mullapram Ezhuthan Santhosh was killed when he was alone in his house.

Six journalists, including three media owners, have been arrested in the Ivory Coast for "spreading false information" about a mutiny by security forces, their newspapers and the public prosecutor said.

The move came after elite forces became the latest troops to protest over pay in recent weeks in the West African nation, firing into the air in the army barracks town of Adiake.

"Regarding recent action taken by the military... we have come to believe that certain mediaorganisations are spreading false information in a bid to encourage soldiers to revolt," said a statement from the public prosecutor broadcast on national television on Sunday.

The editor and owner of the independent dailies L'Inter and SoirInfo were arrested and held in a police camp in the capital Abidjan, along with the editors and owners of the opposition newspapers Le Temps and Notre Voie.