Mumbai Apr 22 PTI The Bombay High Court has set aside the Maharashtra governments notification exempting persons affected by the Nagpur-Mumbai Express Highway project from getting compensation for land acquisition as per the existing market value of their property A division bench of Justices S V Gangapurwala and Vinay Joshi passed the order to the effect on March 24 The order copy was made available on Friday Under a resolution issued on August 13 2018 the state government had decided to consider the ready reckoner the minimum rate of property transactions notified by the government through the revenue office as under the Maharashtra Stamp Act for determining the market value of land However in September 2018 the government issued a corrigendum notification exempting the Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg project from the August 2018 circular A few of the project-affected persons then approached the Bombay High Court seeking to quash the September 2018 notification terming it as violative of their fundamental rights The petitioners claimed that the state government cannot differentiate between projects while determining compensation amounts Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni appearing for the state government told the court that the September 2018 corrigendum notification was issued as 83 per cent of acquisition was complete by private purchase and compensation paid A division bench of Justices S V Gangapurwala and Vinay Joshi however quashed and set aside the corrigendum notification holding that it was beyond the powers of the executive to do so Only because 83 per cent of the property for the project is acquitted it would be egregious not to apply the provisions of the statute for determination of compensation The compensation shall have to be computed in accordance with the provisions and Statute and rule of law shall have to be followed the court said The bench further said that if the lands had been acquired by private negotiation then the compensation paid thereon cannot be the criteria to determine the market value for the claimants who do not agree for private negotiation PTI SP ARU ARU

Lucknow Mar 27 PTI SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday attacked the Yogi Adityanath government over womens safety in Uttar Pradesh referring to an incident in Jhansi where two sisters allegedly fed up with the police inaction over their complaint of sexual harassment consumed poison Police however refuted Yadavs claim that the two sisters were sexually harassed and said they had consumed poison alleging police inaction over their complaint of harassment by their neighbours over a dispute on watering an under-construction house Its saddening that losing hope from the police two sisters facing sexual harassment in Jhansi consumed poison All those criminals and officials involved and those patronising them should face an unbiased probe Security of sisters and daughters should be the first indicator of law and order Akhilesh Yadav said in a tweet in Hindi Responding to Yadavs allegation the Jhansi police claimed in a tweet that the two girls allegations of sexual harassment were false and they had a fight with a neighbouring woman and her son Rahul over the watering of an under-construction house After the incident of the girls consuming poison came to light police acted in the matter and have registered an FIR against the mother-son duo the Jhansi police said on its Twitter handle The police have also formed a team to arrest the accused they said The Jhansi police said it even suspended the police station in-charge J P Yadav with immediate effect for not taking proper action on the girls complaint and ordered a departmental probe against him According to doctors the condition of the girls is normal police said PTI ABN ABN RAX RAX

Mumbai Mar 25 PTI A sessions court here on Friday rejected an anticipatory bail application filed by Pravin Darekar Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council in a case of alleged forgery and cheating Darekar a BJP leader is accused of forging documents to become a member of a labour society and subsequently contesting elections of the Mumbai District Co-Operative Society in the labour quota As per the First Information Report FIR he forged certain documents to become a member of the Pratigya Labour Cooperative Society The court while refusing Darekar pre-arrest bail on Friday noted that there was prima facie evidence against him and further probe was necessary The judge R N Rokade however extended the interim protection from arrest granted to Darekar earlier till March 29 so that he could file an appeal in the High Court The FIR under the charges of cheating and criminal conspiracy under the IPC was registered following a complaint by Aam Aadmi Party leader Dhananjay Shinde Shinde alleged that Darekar contested the Mumbai District Co- Operative Societys election for the post of director under the labour category Darekar had served as president of the bank for several years As per the complaint in 1997 he registered himself as a labourer with the Pratidnya Labour Cooperative Society which enabled him to contest the bank elections under the labour category fraudulently PTI SP KRK KRK

Mumbai Mar 24 PTI Maharashtras former home minister Anil Deshmukh has approached the Bombay High Court seeking bail in connection with a money laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate ED Deshmukh was arrested by the ED on November 2 2021 and is currently in jail under judicial custodyThe 71-year-old NCP leader filed a petition in the HC after a special court rejected his bail plea earlier this monthDeshmukh in his bail plea filed in the HC through advocates Aniket Nikam and Inderpal Singh on Tuesday has said he was implicated by the ED in a false and frivolous case and that the central agency was misusing its authorityThe former minister who resigned from the state cabinet in April last year refuted the charges of money laundering and said all alleged transactions cited by the ED in the case were documented Deshmukhs bail plea is likely to be heard by a single bench of the HC on FridayThe special court designated to hear cases related to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA while refusing bail to Deshmukh had noted that there was evidence to show that the NCP leader was actively involved in money launderingThe EDs case is that while serving as state home minister Deshmukh misused his official position and through Sachin Waze a police officer who has been dismissed from service after his arrest in the Antilia bomb scare and Mansukh Hiran killing case last year collected Rs 470 crore from various bars in Mumbai The money was laundered to Nagpur-based Shri Sai Shikshan Sansthan an educational trust controlled by the Deshmukh family the central agency has alleged PTI SP RSY RSY

Mumbai Jan 31 PTI The motto of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme can be achieved only by providing a safe environment for girls the Bombay High Court said on Monday while referring to the plight of female students in a village in Maharashtra who have to use a boat to reach their schoolA division bench of Justices Prasanna Varale and Anil Kilor took suo motu on its own cognizance of a news item on how children of Khirvandi village in Satara district have to travel by a boat to reach their school dailyThe bench referring to the news report noted that girl students ferry their own boat from one end of the Koyna dam to the other and from there go through a patch of dense forest to reach their schoolWe are short of words to express the suffering and plight of students in general and girls in particular the bench said in its orderWe can further state that the laudable object of the motto Beti Bachao Beti Padhao can be achieved only by providing a safe passage and a friendly atmosphere and environment for the girl children by the state it added referring to the Centres scheme that focuses on ensuring survival protection and education of the girl childThe court further said while the girl students are facing adversities they are showing courage will and strong determination to pursue their academic careerThe bench said it expects the Maharashtra government to take all steps to provide necessary assistance to these children and directed the HC registry department to place the matter for further hearing before an appropriate bench PTI SP RSY RSY

Mumbai Jan 27 PTI The Bombay High Court on Thursday sought to know from the Maharashtra government if the tribal population in the state can be provided employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act MNREGA A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice M S Karnik was hearing a bunch of public interest litigations filed in 2007 highlighting high numbers of deaths among children pregnant women and lactating mothers due to malnutrition in Melghat region of the state Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni appearing for the state on Thursday informed the court that while the government welfare schemes were available to the tribal population in Melghat region the same was not available when they migrate to other regions after the monsoon season There is then a disconnect or interruption in these persons getting benefits of the scheme Our final aim is to ensure that there is no migration Until then the governments endeavour would be to provide the benefits even in those areas where these persons migrate to Kumbhakoni said To this the bench said if the tribal population is provided employment at their own villages then they would not find the need to migrate Can they be given jobs under the MNREGA scheme If you government want to prevent migration then you have to find out sources of employment That should be a part of your plan Chief Justice Datta said One of the petitioners Bandu Sane informed the court that while around 40 children died due to malnutrition each month in Melghat region till August 2021 the number has now come down to 20 deaths per month from November 2021 to January 2022 The court then said that the state government was not taking steps to ensure that there were no deaths The bench also sought to know from Kumbhakoni as to why the benefit of providing hot cooked meals was stopped This is something very disturbing This is something very basic that the government should have provided Justice Karnik said To this Kumbhakoni said it was stopped when the COVID-19 pandemic spread and the same will resume from February this year Hot cooked meals were stopped when the virus started spreading Alternatively the government was providing take home ration he said The court then posted the matter for further hearing on February 28 PTI SP ARU ARU

Mumbai Jan 18 PTI A special court here on Tuesday rejected a plea filed by former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh seeking default bail in an alleged money laundering case Deshmukh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate ED on November 2 2021 and is currently in judicial custodyIn his application the NCP leader had said the special court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act cases did not take cognizance of the prosecution complaint charge sheet filed by the ED before remanding him in further judicial custodyAs the cognizance was not taken in the stipulated period of 60 days from the arrest he should get bail by default on technical grounds under section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure CrPC the plea saidThe ED opposed this argument saying the charge sheet had been filed within the stipulated timeSpecial Judge R N Rokade on Tuesday rejected the NCP leaders plea As per section 167 if a charge sheet is not filed and its cognizance not taken within 60 days the accused can seek default bailBut the Central agencys contention was that the question of court taking cognizance of charge sheet was not pertinentDefault bail cannot be considered once the principal charge sheet and a supplementary one had been filed in time it added The ED had on December 29 2021 filed a 7000-page supplementary charge sheet against Deshmukh and his sonsIt had earlier filed a charge sheet against 14 others including Deshmukhs private secretary an additional collector-rank officer Sanjeev Palande and personal assistant Kundan ShindeThe ED launched a separate probe against Deshmukh after the CBI registered a case against the senior NCP leader in April 2021 on the charges of corruptionThe EDs case is that while serving as Maharashtra home minister Deshmukh through now dismissed police official Sachin Waze collected Rs 470 crore from various bars in MumbaiDeshmukh and his family members owned several shell companies which were used to launder this money and divert it to educational trusts controlled by the family the ED allegedWaze an assistant police inspector with Mumbai Crime Branch was arrested in March 2021 in the Antilia bomb scare and Mansukh Hiran murder case Following Wazes arrest then Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh was transferredSingh then accused Deshmukh of asking police officers to collect Rs 100 crore a month from bars and restaurants in MumbaiDeshmukh while denying these allegations resigned as minister PTI SP KRK KRK KRK

Mumbai Jan 18 PTI A special court here on Tuesday rejected a plea filed by former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh seeking default bail in an alleged money laundering case Deshmukh an NCP leader was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate ED on November 2 2021 and is currently in judicial custody In his application Deshmukh contended that the special court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act cases did not take cognizance of the charge sheet filed by the ED before remanding him in further judicial custody Therefore he was entitled to bail by default on technical grounds he said The ED opposed the plea saying the charge sheet had been filed within stipulated time Special Judge R N Rokade rejected the NCP leaders plea PTI SP KRK KRK

Mumbai Nov 27 PTI A special court here has said while granting bail to an accused in the drugs-on-cruise case that there was no apparent evidence that he was a peddler and had supplied drugs to co-accused Arbaaz Merchant In the detailed order which became available on Saturday the court said it cannot accept the Narcotics Control Bureaus NCB contention that accused Shivraj Harijan was a drug peddler and had supplied drugs to Merchant The NCB had on October 3 arrested actor Shah Rukh Khans son Aryan Merchant and some others after raiding a cruise ship here and allegedly recovering drugsMerchant and Aryan Khan were granted bail by the High Court on October 28 V V Patil special judge for cases related to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances NDPS Act on November 22 granted Harijan bail Barring the statement of the accused under section 67 of the NDPS Act there is no prima facie evidence on record to show that the applicant was a supplier of the contraband the order stated Therefore the contention of the prosecution cannot be accepted that the applicant is a peddler and he supplied contraband to accused no 2 Merchant it added Considering the material on record it cannot be said that prima facie conspiracy charge was made out against the accused the order said PTI SP ARU KRK KRK

Mumbai Nov 25 PTI The Bombay High Court on Thursday upheld the death penalty awarded to a 30-year-old man for raping and killing a three-year-old girl noting that he had committed a gruesome and barbaric act and the safety of a girl child is of paramount importance to a society A division bench of Justices Sadhana Jadhav and Prithiviraj Chavan confirmed the death penalty awarded to Ramkirat Goud by a special court designated to hear cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences POSCO Act in March 2019 The bench noted that the act committed by the convict was gruesome barbaric and revolts human conscience and it falls under the category of rarest of rare It is the safety of a girl child which is of paramount importance to a society the court said The act of the accused is gruesome and committed in a diabolic manner It is a heinous offence It is unimaginable that a cheerful frolicking child enjoying with her pet would provoke the feelings of lust in a man who is a father of two daughters and a son the court said The perversity in the mind of the accused was apparent the court said adding that it has personally spoken to the accused and he has not shown any remorse Goud who worked as a watchman in a building in the same vicinity as the victims house is accused of raping and then killing the three-year-old in September 2013 in Thane district The body of the victim was recovered from a nearby mud pond A bud of rose was crushed before it bloomed a kite was torn when about to fly the budding flower was crushed to ashes and the kite took the soul away the court said in its judgment The victim who was playing with her little dog was noticed by a knave man who was driven by a desire of lust upon the sight of a little happy harmless child playing in her own world it said The court noted that as per the autopsy report the victim was brutally assaulted before she was killed The bench further stated that as per evidence submitted by the prosecution the accused was seen last with the child who was found dead soon thereafter and that the dog was tied to the window of a room just next to the accuseds house In the present case looking at the monstrous act of the convict it is apparent that the appellant Goud had not for a moment thought of the precious life of the minor child It did not strike him for a moment that he himself happens to be a father of two daughters who are yet to see life the judgment said Such incidents will send a chill down the spine of parents of every little girl before sending their undefended innocent minor girl child to see the rainbow as they would be scared as to whether she would fall prey to a monster like the present one it stated PTI SP ARU ARU