Page 885 - Law Crime
CVC to complete inquiry against Verma in 2 weeks, Rao can't take policy decisions, says SC
The Supreme Court Friday set a deadline of two weeks for the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to complete the inquiry against CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma, who has been divested of his duties and sent on leave in view of fued between him and Special Director Rakesh Asthana. The court directed that the inquiry be conducted under the supervision of a retired apex court judge and barred IPS officer M Nageswara Rao, who has been given interim charge of looking after the duties of CBI Director, from taking any policy or major decision. It also said that the decisions taken by Rao since October 23 till today would not be implemented. Making it clear that Rao, who is a Joint Director of CBI, would continue to do routine work to keep the agency functioning, the court further said that the decisions taken by him will be placed before it in a sealed cover. Asthana has also approached the Supreme Court with a separate petition in the matter. The court said that the CVC's inquiry into the ...
Hope CBI's institutional integrity will be upheld: Kejriwal after SC order
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Friday welcomed the "intervention" by the Supreme Court in the turmoil at the CBI and hoped the institutional integrity of the investigating agency will be upheld. His reaction came after the Supreme Court asked the Central Vigilance Commission to complete within two weeks its inquiry into allegations against CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma and barred interim director M Nageswara Rao from taking any major policy decision. "Welcome intervention by the hon'ble Supreme Court of India in the CBI matter. "In the interests of the nation, hope that institutional integrity of CBI will be upheld & powers that be will understand that their illegal acts will not go un-challanged (sic)," Kejriwal tweeted. The court said the inquiry will be conducted under the supervision of a former Supreme Court judge. Hearing Verma's plea challenging the government's decision to divest him of his duties and send him on leave, the court sought a response from the CVC and ..
ED files supplementary charge sheet against journalist Upendra Rai in Delhi court
The Enforcement Directorate Friday filed a supplementary charge sheet before a Delhi court against journalist Upendra Rai, who was arrested for his alleged involvement in dubious financial transactions. The supplementary charge sheet was filed before Additional Sessions Judge Rakesh Syal. The court had rapped the CBI on October 22 for seeking adjournment to procure sanctions to prosecute an accused in the case against Rai. Rai, who is presently in judicial custody, was arrested on June 8 by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act at the Tihar Jail here, moments after he secured bail in a Central Bureau of Investigation case related to alleged extortion and dubious financial transactions.
SC order on CBI row extremely positive development: Jaitley
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Friday termed the Supreme Court order on the CBI row as "extremely positive development", saying it was in the interest of the nation that the truth comes out. The Supreme Court Friday asked the Central Vigilance Commission(CVC) to complete within two weeks its inquiry into allegations against CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma and barred interim director M Nageswara Rao from taking any major policy decision. Commenting on the apex court ruling, Jaitley said recent developments have eroded the reputation of the CBI. The Supreme Court order, he said, has further strengthened the fairness criteria by asking for completion of investigation within two weeks. "In order to ensure fairness, the Supreme Court has appointed a retired judge to oversee the investigation," he said. "The government is only interested in maintaining professionalism, the image and the institutional integrity of the CBI." CVC probe in the CBI case is to ensure fairness, he said adding it was .
Delhi court issues notices to Sterling Biotech owners in Rs 8,100-cr bank loan fraud case
A Delhi court Friday issued notices to Sterling Biotech promoters following an Enforcement Directorate's plea to declare them fugitive economic offenders in connection with a Rs 8,100-crore bank fraud case. Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora issued the notices to the owners of the Gujarat-based pharmaceutical firm. On October 23, the ED filed a supplementary chargesheet against seven persons in the court in the money laundering case. So far, the agency has chargesheeted 191 accused, including seven individuals and 184 companies. The accused included main promoters of Sterling Group Nitin Sandesara, Chetan Sandesara, Dipti Sandesara, Hitesh Patel, Rajbhushan Dixit, Chartered Accountant Hemant Hathi, and middleman Gagan Dhawan. The companies were: Sterling Biotech Ltd, PMT Machines Ltd, Sterling SEZ and Infra Ltd, Sterling Port Ltd, Sterling Oil Resources Ltd and 179 shell firms.
Man shot dead, another stabbed to death
A 35-year-old engineer was shot dead in Jharkhand's Palamau district on Friday when he escorted his child to the school bus, police said.
Toddler molested by grandad in MP
A two-year-old girl was molested by her maternal grandfather in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city, police said.
SC asks CVC to complete probe against CBI chief within 2 weeks, Rao not to take major decisions
The Supreme Court Friday asked the Central Vigilance Commission to complete within two weeks its inquiry into allegations against CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma and barred interim director M Nageswara Rao from taking any major policy decision. The inquiry will be conducted under the supervision of a former Supreme Court judge, the court ordered. Hearing Verma's plea challenging the government's decision to divest him of his duties and send him on leave, the court sought a response from the CVC and the Centre. The top court said that former Supreme Court judge A K Patnaik will oversee the CVC inquiry into allegations against Verma and the report has to be placed before it within two weeks, noting that the matter is of national importance and there should not be any delay. The retired judge will supervise the CVC inquiry against Verma because of the importance of the case without casting aspersions on any constitutional or statutory authority, the apex court said. A bench of Chief ...
Probe against Verma to be completed in 2 weeks, interim chief can't take policy decisions: SC
The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that an inquiry against Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Alok Verma must be completed within two weeks and M Nageshwar Rao, who was appointed as the interim Director, cannot take any policy decision till court hears the matter again on November 12.The top court ordered a Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) inquiry under the supervision of retired Supreme Court Judge AK Patnaik."Inquiry in respect of the allegation made in the note of the Secretariat as regards the present CBI Director Alok Verma shall be completed by the CVC within a period of two weeks from today. The inquiry will be conducted by the retired SC judge AK Patnaik," Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi in his order stated."CVC will carry on probe in 10 days under the supervision of a judge of this court. M Nageshwar Rao shall perform only routine task. Change of investigating officer by CBI will be furnished in sealed cover on November 12 before Supreme Court. Rao will
CBI row: Kejriwal welcomes SC intervention
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court intervention in the ongoing CBI row, saying he hoped the agency's institutional integrity will be upheld.
Ex-SC judge to supervise CVC probe against Alok Verma
The Supreme Court on Friday appointed one of its former judges, Justice A.K. Patnaik, to supervise the inquiry into the allegations against CBI Director Alok Verma while giving two weeks time to the CVC to complete the probe.
Pak SC forms committee to curb DTH devices' smuggling from India
Pakistan's Supreme Court has ordered the formation of a special committee that will suggest measures to curb unchecked availability of direct-to-home (DTH) devices allegedly smuggled from India in the local market, according to a media report on Friday. The directive was issued by a three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar, which had taken up a case relating to easy the availability of Indian DTH or magic box in Pakistani markets, Dawn newspaper reported. The committee will consist of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Jahanzeb Khan, Member Customs Mohammad Zahid, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General Bashir Memon and Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) Chairman Saleem Baig. Nisar regretted that such devices mostly consisting of Indian channels resulted in draining of hard-earned money out of Pakistan.
Man arrested in Rajouri with 1 kg poppy husk
Jammu and Kashmir police arrested a man and seized 1 kg poppy husk from his vehicle in Rajouri district, an official said Friday. A police team intercepted a tempo traveller in Manjakote area and seized poppy husk from the vehicle during checking, the official said. Yaser Arafat, the driver, was arrested and a case was registered.
Police files chargesheet against three in Bengal gangrape case
The West Bengal Police has filed a charge sheet against three persons in connection with the brutal gangrape of a woman in Jalpaiguri district on October 20, a police officer said on Friday. The 35-year-old woman was raped and an iron rod inserted in her private parts. The police filed a charge sheet against the three accused on Thursday, five days after the incident took place, a police officer said. The accused have been charge-sheeted under relevant sections of the IPC for gangrape, causing grievous injury and attempt to murder. While we have arrested two persons, one is still absconding, the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Jalpaiguri, Amitava Maity, said. The incident had taken place near the victim's home at Niranjan Pat locality of Jalpaiguri district. The prime accused, a relative of the woman, had called her out of her home on the pretext of resolving a land dispute, the SP had earlier said. He then allegedly raped her and tortured her by inserting an iron rod in her private .
Malegaon blasts: NIA court defers framing of charges to Oct 30
A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Friday deferred framing of charges in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case till October 30 as some of the accused were not present in the court.The court directed all the defence lawyers to make sure that all of them should be present on the stipulated date for framing of charges. The Bombay High Court has already directed an expedited hearing in the case earlier this week.The high court has also agreed to hear Lt Col Prasad Purohit's appeal on October 29. Lt Col Purohit had moved the court against the order of the special NIA court that had rejected his challenge to Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) sanctions. The NIA court had asserted that the prosecution of Lt Col Purohit under UAPA is valid.Six people were killed while more than a hundred got injured in the blast that took place on September 29, 2008, in the Muslim majority town of Malegaon in Maharashtra.In November 2008, the Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested 11 people in ...
Truck carrying cigarettes worth Rs 1 cr hijacked
A gang of robbers allegedly hijacked a truck carrying cigarettes worth over Rs 1 crore in Palghar district of Maharashtra, police said Friday. The incident took place on Wednesday evening near Waghoba Khind on Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway when the truck was going towards Jaipur from Mumbai, Palghar district police said. According to police, the vehicle with its consignment of cigarettes intact, was later found abandoned in Burhanpur district of Madhya Pradesh. "The truck transporting cigarrets worth over Rs 1 crore was on its way to Jaipur when it was waylaid by a gang of around seven robbers on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway," assistant inspector of Manor police station Sidhava Jaybhaye said. "The driver was threatened at knife point. The robbers pulled him out of the vehicle, dragged him to a forest area along the road, where he was beaten up and tied. They later fled with the truck," she said. The driver of the truck, Chanchal Singh, filed a complaint with Manor police ...
Rs 8,100-cr bank loan fraud: ED moves court against Sterling Biotech group promoters
The Enforcement Directorate Friday moved a special court here to get the owners of Gujarat-based Sterling Biotech group, charged in an alleged Rs 8,100-crore bank loan fraud case, declared fugitive economic offenders under a new law, officials said. They said the central agency has filed a plea before a special court of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), seeking to declare Nitin Sandesara, Chetan Sandesara, Dipti Sandesara and Hitesh Patel fugitives under Section 4 of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, brought by the Modi government this year to check cases of large bank frauds and similar crimes. "All the four are promoters of the Sterling Group and have fled the country to avoid criminal probe against them in a Rs 8,100-crore bank loan fraud involving a consortium of banks," a senior official said. The agency has also sought confiscation of the assets worth over Rs 5,000 crore of the Vadodara-based business family as part of the action under the fugitive law. The ...
SC seeks Centre, CBI, CVC reply on Verma's plea; CVC to conduct inquiry within 2 weeks
The Supreme Court Friday sought a response from the CBI, the CVC and the Centre on agency Director Alok Kumar Verma's plea challenging the government's decision to divest him of his duties and send him on leave. The apex court directed that interim CBI chief M Nageswara Rao shall not take any major policy decisions. Decisions taken by him since October 23 till date shall not be implemented, it said. All decisions taken by Rao shall be placed before the apex court in a sealed cover. The top court said former Supreme Court judge A K Patnaik will oversee a Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) inquiry into the allegations and counter allegations and the report has to be placed before it within two weeks. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi posted the next date of hearing on November 12. The bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, issued notices on the petition filed by an NGO, Common Cause, which has sought a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe against the CBI ..
FBI treating serial bomb threats as domestic terrorism
American law enforcement officials were examining clues to find who sent 10 packages containing what appeared to be explosive materials to prominent Democrats, critics of President Donald Trump and to CNN's New York offices as authorities have classified the incidents as domestic terrorism.
Hearing underway on CBI Director Alok Verma's plea challenging Centre's decision
The Supreme Court Friday commenced hearing on the petition filed by CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma challenging the decision of the Centre to divest him of his duties and sending him on leave. A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph is hearing the plea. Senior advocate F S Nariman is advancing arguments on behalf of the CBI chief. The counsel submitted that the CBI Director was appointed with the approval of a selection panel having the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition and the Chief Justice of India. Nariman referred to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and Centre's orders divesting Verma of his duty. He also cited the Vineet Narain judgment to support Verma's pleas. Verma has also sought stay of the Centre's order asking him to proceed on leave and giving the interim charge of his post to Joint Director M Nageswara Rao, a 1986 batch Odisha-cadre IPS officer.