Page 493 - Law Crime
Accused in financial frauds have made it a practice to challenge PMLA sections: ED to HC
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has told the Delhi High Court that persons involved in large-scale money laundering and serious financial frauds have made it a practice to challenge various provisions of the PMLA, including the agency's power to arrest. The ED contended that a subterfuge was craftily designed by the "unscrupulous litigants" to bypass the exercise of filing a regular bail plea before the court concerned by directly seeking a habeas corpus writ or bail or anticipatory bail under the garb of challenging the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). A habeas corpus petition is a writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or in court, especially to secure his release, unless lawful grounds are shown for his detention. The submissions were made before a bench of justices Siddharth Mridul and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal by the ED in an affidavit filed in response to a habeas corpus plea moved by alleged
SC gives courtroom detention to ex-CBI interim chief Rao, legal advisor for contempt
The Supreme Court Tuesday awarded day-long courtroom detention to former acting CBI director M Nageswara Rao and another official for "brazen" contempt of its orders, and strongly rebuked them when they tried to leave before the rising of the court. It had directed them to remain seated till the rising of the court and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each for transferring out an officer who was probing the Bihar shelter homes sexual assault cases. Sparing contemnors Rao and CBI's legal advisor S Bhasuram the jail term, the apex court held them guilty for "wilfully disobeying" its orders by transferring CBI Joint Director A K Sharma, as additional director general of CRPF on January 18. "In our considered view, it is a case where contempt has been committed by both the then acting CBI Director, M N Rao, and the director prosecution (of the agency)" said a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi. Pensive looking Rao and Bhasuram, who on Monday had already tendered unconditional .
Police register FIR against management of Delhi hotel where fire killed 17
The Delhi Police on Tuesday registered an FIR against the management of Hotel Aprit Palace, where a massive fire broke out killing 17 people, officials said. The case has been registered under sector section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) of the Indian Penal Code. Conviction under both the sections leads to seven years of imprisonment, the officials said. The fire, which broke on early hours of Tuesday swept through the four-storied hotel killed 17 guests, including two people who jumped off the building in a desperate bid to save themselves, the officials said. A child was among those killed in the blaze.
Man booked for sexually harassing minor girl
A 45-year-old man has been booked for allegedly sexually harassing a 14-year-old daughter of his neighbour here during an altercation, police said Tuesday. The alleged incident occurred on February 10, following which the teenager's mother approached police on February 11, a police officer said. An FIR was registered under sections 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on February 11, the officer said. No arrest is made so far. Further investigation is underway.
Kunal Ghosh writes to CBI accusing Kumar, seeking joint questioning with Mukul Roy
Former Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kunal Ghosh, who was jointly questioned with Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar by the CBI in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam, wrote to the probe agency on Tuesday, accusing the top police officer of tampering with the new evidence that has emerged in the case in Shillong. Ghosh, whose two-day questioning ended on Monday, demanded that he should jointly be interrogated with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mukul Roy as it might be helpful for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). "I have written a letter to the CBI, where I have categorically accused Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar of tampering with the evidence that has emerged in the chit fund case during the joint questioning with me in Shillong. "Kumar is leaking whatever I had said during the joint interrogation with him (at Shillong) and is instructing his subordinate officers to tamper with that evidence. I have received information regarding it. I request the
Civic body orders probe in Delhi hotel fire, officials suspect short-circuit
Indicating violation of civic norms including running a makeshift restaurant on the rooftop, municipal officials Tuesday ordered a probe into the fire incident at the Karol Bagh hotel in which at least 17 people including a child were killed. Suggesting that a short-circuit may have led to the incident, North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) officials said as per the records, the building had faced "intermittent partial demolition" or other civic action under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act from mid-June 1993 to January 1994, for unauthorised constructions. Officials said the report of the probe is expected to come in three days. "A probe has been ordered and its report is expected in three days. The probe will seek to find if there were any lapses from the civic officials' end, or Delhi Fire department's end and also talk about ensuring that such incidents do not recur," North Delhi Mayor Adesh Gupta said. Action will be taken against civic employees if they are found guilty of
VVIP chopper scam: Delhi court sends Rajeev Saxena to jail till Feb 18, orders his medical check-up
A Delhi court Tuesday sent Rajeev Saxena, arrested in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland money laundering case, to judicial custody till February 18 and directed the Tihar jail authorities to take him to AIIMS for medical check up. Special Judge Arvind Kumar ordered the Director AIIMS to file a report regarding the medical condition of Saxena by 2 pm tomorrow. "Considering the submissions by both the parties and record regarding medical condition of the accused, the jail authority is directed to take the accused to AIIMS immediately for his necessary check up and admission/ treatment," the court said. "The Director, AIIMS shall file report regarding the medical condition of the accused on February 13 by 2 pm. The accused is permitted to take with him all his medical records copy of which shall be sent by jail authorities to AIIMS for perusal. The jail authorities shall permit the accused to take with him Sleep apnea (sleep disorder) machine and necessary medicines," it added. The order
BJP's Mukul Roy, booked in TMC MLA's murder case, files anticipatory bail plea
BJP leader Mukul Roy Tuesday filed an anticipatory bail application before the Calcutta High Court after being named in an FIR in the killing of a Trinamool Congress MLA in Nadia district. Roy claimed that he was booked out of "political vendetta" and was in no way linked to the murder of Krishnaganj MLA Satyajit Biswas on Saturday. Biswas (41), who represented Krishnaganj constituency in the West Bengal Assembly, was shot dead from point-blank range by unidentified assailants on Saturday evening inside a Saraswati puja marquee at Phoolbari area in the district, bordering Bangladesh. Roy's lawyer Subhasish Dasgupta said the anticipatory bail plea is likely to come up for hearing on Wednesday before a division bench presided over by Justice Joymalyo Bagchi. Roy has been charged with "criminal conspiracy relating to the murder", his lawyer said. "Roy has been implicated in about 25 criminal cases since he changed his affiliation from Trinamool Congress to BJP," Dasgupta said. The BJP ...
Plea in HC against national award recipients participating in advertisements
A plea has been moved in the Delhi High Court questioning whether national award recipients, like Sachin Tendulkar, can be allowed to participate in private advertisements for commercial gains. The petition, challenging a single judge order declining to entertain the issue, came up for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao which on Tuesday indicated that it was not inclined to hear the matter. The bench, however, did not pass any adverse orders as the petitioner nor his lawyer was present in court and listed the matter for February 26. Justice Menon said a bench headed by him in the Madhya Pradesh High Court had dismissed a similar plea against Tendulkar, who was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2014, and the decision was later upheld by the Supreme Court. He asked the lawyers for the central government to examine the apex court judgement in the other matter and ascertain whether it would be applicable in the present case as well. The petitioner,Kamal ..
Go and sit in the corner: CJI to CBI official
"Go and sit in the corner," Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi told former acting CBI Director M. Nageswara Rao, after holding him guilty of contempt of the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Indian-origin man jailed for burqa-clad robbery in UK
An Indian-origin robber who dressed up in a burqa to steal from a jewellery store while threatening a shop worker with a knife in the city of Leicester has been jailed for over four years behind bars. Imtiaz Patel, 42, had pleaded guilty to the knife-point robbery and possession of a bladed weapon. He was sentenced to four years imprisonment for the robbery and a concurrent nine-month imprisonment for possession of the weapon at Leicester Crown Court on Monday. Patel was also sentenced to an additional two months imprisonment for breaching a community order, with the total jail time adding up to four years and two months. "It was thanks to the quick-thinking and excellent response of the officers on patrol that Patel was detained so quickly. Their actions of catching Patel as he left the scene of the crime left him with no choice but to admit the offence," said Detective Constable Anna Thorpe of Leicestershire Police. The court was told how Patel was wearing a burqa and had a scarf ...
HC seeks Centre's reply on Tata Sky plea against seizure of STBs for not declaring MRP
The Delhi High Court Tuesday sought the Centre's response on a plea by direct broadcast satellite television provider Tata Sky challenging seizure of its set-top box (STB) packages for not declaring the maximum retail price on them. A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao issued notice to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs seeking its stand on the petition that has also challenged the constitutional validity of a rule which makes it mandatory to declare MRP on STB packages. The court directed the ministry to indicate its stand on the issue by March 1, the next date of hearing. Besides seeking the setting aside of the seizure report of January 17, the Tata Sky also requested the Rule 4 of the Legal Metrology Rules, which makes declaring of MRP on STB packages mandatory, be quashed. It also sought quashing of an August 9, 2018 circular by which the rule was made applicable to STBs. The company, represented by senior advocate P Chidambaram, has contended it was not ...
CBI files case against IOC official, 4 others for seeking
The CBI has registered a case against a senior official of an oil marketing company and four others for allegedly seeking bribe to allot petrol pumps and kerosene dealerships. The investigating agency in a press release on Tuesday said its Guwahati office anti-corruption branch had registered a case on Sunday under Indian Penal Code section 120b (criminal conspiracy) and sections of Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018 against the five persons, including a woman. The CBI said there were allegations against the accused of demanding and accepting illegal gratification habitually from different private businessmen, who own petrol pumps and kerosene oil dealerships. It named the Indian Oil Corporation - Assam Oil Division general manager(sales) Dibyajyoti Datta for his alleged "connivance with private conduits for showing them favour in allotment of new retail outlets all over North Eastern states, including Assam", according to the release. It said that as per ...
CBI, ED oppose Christian Michel's bail plea
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday opposed bail plea of British national Christian Michel, the middleman accused in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case.
3 women drug traffickers arrested from Guwahati rly station
Government Railway Police (GRP) Tuesday arrested three women drug traffickers and recovered 24 grams of heroin from their possession. According to the Superintendent of Railway Police Hemanta Kumar Das, a joint team of GRP and Crime Branch of Guwahati Police apprehended the three women at Guwahati railway station on Tuesday morning. "The team recovered 12 plastic containers, containing suspected heroin, each weighing around two grams. The materials were seized from their possession as per the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act," he added. The three women were identified as Marjina Begum (30), Mamiram Begum (30) and Bhanu Begum (40) and a case has also been registered, Das said.
SC holds ex-interim CBI chief Rao guilty of contempt, orders him to sit in a corner
The Supreme Court on Tuesday held former CBI interim director M. Nageswara Rao and in-charge prosecution S. Bhasuran guilty of contempt of court for disobeying its order to not transfer out Additional Director A.K. Sharma, who was probing the Bihar shelter home cases.
AAP govt opposes parole plea of convict in Jigisha Ghosh murder case
The AAP government Tuesday opposed in Delhi High Court a parole plea by a convict serving life term in the Jigisha Ghosh murder case, and facing trial in the sensational 2008 murder of TV journalist Soumya Viswanathan, saying there was a threat that he may misuse the relief and abscond. Murder convict Ravi Kapoor, in custody since March 2009, has approached the high court seeking parole for three months to take proper medical treatment as he was suffering from life threatening disease HIV and for surgery of chronic sinus. Highlighting Kapoor's record in jail, the state government said in its report that his conduct in prison is not good and he has been given 41 punishments on various counts including misbehaviour with officials and fights. The status report of the authorities was filed before Justice Mukta Gupta who listed the matter for further hearing in April after the convict's counsel sought time to file reply to the report. In the report filed through Delhi government standing ..
Lovers bludgeoned to death in sleep in Odisha
The bodies of a man and woman, suspected to be lovers, were recovered Tuesday from a house at Ranipatna area of Odisha's Balasore town, police said. The two could have been bludgeoned to death with an iron rod in their sleep last night, said Subhransu Nayak, Inspector in Charge of Sahadevkhunta Police Station. "The police, aided by a forensic team, are on the spot and inquiry is on, he said adding that the motive and other details can be known only after the investigation got over. Kailash Chandra Sahu, the husband of the deceased woman Laxmipriya Sahu (32), has been detained for questioning, police said. The deceased man was identified as Pradip Kumar Dey (45) of Durgadevi village under Remuna police station. Police said the accused Kailash Chandra Sahu and Laxmipriya belonged to Durgadebi village in Remuna block in Balasore district and they had been staying at a rented house in the Bank Colony at Sahadevkhunta of Balasore. The accused was out of work in the past while .
Rao, CBI legal advisor leave courtroom after serving SC's day-long sentence
Former CBI interim director M Nageswara Rao and the probe agency's legal advisor S Bhasuram left the courtroom after serving their day-long sentence for contempt. The apex court held them guilty of contempt for wilfully disobeying its order by transferring CBI Joint Director A K Sharma, who was probing the Bihar shelter home sexual assault cases, as additional director general of CRPF on January 17. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi did not allow the second attempt of Attorney General K K Venugopal at 3:40 pm that the contemnor officers be allowed to leave. "Go to one corner of the court and sit down till the rising of this court," the court had said in the forenoon. The top court responded furiously to the second attempt by Venugopal seeking permission for Rao to leave. "What's this? Do you want us to sentence him till the rising of the court tomorrow? Go and sit where you were," the CJI said.
Many chit fund conspirators still outside CBI probe: Ex-MP
Former Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh, who was interrogated with Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Saradha and Rose Valley chit fund scams on Tuesday, claimed that many conspirators are still outside the purview of the probe.