When will you return and face the law? HC asks Mallya

Agencies
March 1, 2019

Mumbai, Mar 1: The Bombay High Court Friday asked fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya when would he return to India and face the ongoing legal proceedings against him.

A division bench of Justices Indrajit Mahanty and Sarang Kotwal was hearing a petition filed by Mallya against a city court's January 5 order declaring him as 'fugitive' under the newly-enacted Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA).

Mallya's lawyer Amit Desai said declaring him a fugitive and thereby permitting his assets to be confiscated would only harm the interests of his lenders.

Mallya had volunteered to repay the loans of thousands of crores of rupees which he had taken from banks, he said.

Desai called the FEOA Act "draconian". 

"Prima facie this (the fugitive tag) is unconstitutional...this allows the Centre to confiscate everything, irrespective of whether a property has been bought from the proceeds of crime or not," the lawyer said.

At this, the judges said, "But this tag will go away as soon as your client comes back and faces the proceedings. The property too will be released....So, when is that happening?" 

Desai said Mallya wants to return, but a British court has prohibited him from leaving the UK without its permission.

The bench pointed out that it was only a protective order as Mallya had challenged his extradition proceedings.

"You can volunteer to return. Have you ever gone to this English court and said you want to return (to India) and face pending proceedings?" the judges asked.

Mallya was declared as fugitive following a plea filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the special FEOA court.

The next hearing on ED's application before the special court, seeking permission to start confiscation proceedings, is scheduled for March 13.

Desai said most of Mallya's properties were already attached by "some agency or another", and the confiscation "will only mean no proceeds from such properties can be used to pay off the lenders and banks".

The bench directed ED lawyer Hiten Venegaonkar to file reply to Mallya's plea by March 8.

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News Network
March 30,2020

New Delhi, Mar 30: The number of COVID-19 cases climbed to 1,071 in India on Monday, while the death toll rose to 29, according to the Union Health Ministry.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 942, while 99 people were either cured or discharged and one had migrated, the ministry stated.

In its updated data at 10.30 am, it said two fresh deaths were reported from Maharashtra.

Thus, Maharashtra has reported the maximum number of eight COVID-19 deaths so far, followed by Gujarat (5), Karnataka (3), Madhya Pradesh (2), Delhi (2) and Jammu and Kashmir (2).

Kerala, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, West Bengal, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have reported a death each.

The total number of 1,071 cases includes 49 foreigners.

The highest number of confirmed cases of the pandemic has been reported from Kerala (194) so far, followed by Maharashtra at 193.

The number of cases has gone up to 80 in Karnataka, while Uttar Pradesh has reported 75 cases.

The number of cases has risen to 69 in Telangana, 58 in Gujarat and 57 in Rajasthan.

Delhi has reported 53 cases, while in Tamil Nadu, the number of positive cases is 50.

Punjab has reported 38 cases, while 33 COVID-19 cases have been detected each in Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.

There are 31 cases of the contagion in Jammu and Kashmir, followed by Andhra Pradesh (19), West Bengal (19) and Ladakh (13).

Bihar has 11 cases, while nine cases have been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Chandigarh has eight cases, while Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand have reported seven cases each.

Goa has reported five coronavirus cases, while Himachal Pradesh and Odisha have reported three cases each. Puducherry, Mizoram and Manipur have reported a case each, the Health Ministry said.

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News Network
March 6,2020

Mumbai, Mar 6: Harried Yes Bank depositors rushed to ATMs to withdraw cash but faced multitude of problems including closed down machines and long queues, after the RBI placed the bank under a moratorium, capping maximum withdrawals at Rs 50,000 per account for a month.

Aggravating the problems of depositors were difficulties accessing the internet banking channel, which ensured that they can't transfer the funds online as well. At an ATM in south Mumbai's Horniman Circle, with the RBI headquarters overlooking it, the shutters were pulled down.

The guard on duty said the machine was non-operational before he reported to work late in the evening and he was ordered to shut it after 2200 hrs. In the residential area of suburban Chembur, one ATM was dispensing cash but had a long queue of anxious depositors.

One man said it was still possible to withdraw up to Rs 50,000 in multiple transactions from the machine.

However, another machine nearby had run dry within minutes of the RBI announcement, a woman said.

The regulatory actions, undertaken by the RBI and the government, came hours after finance ministry sources confirmed that SBI was directed to bail out the troubled lender.

For the next month, Yes Bank will be led by the RBI-appointed administrator Prashant Kumar, an ex-chief financial officer of SBI.

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Agencies
July 7,2020

Bhopal, Jul 7: Anil Mishra, personal assistant to BJP Rajya Sabha MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, has tested positive.

He has been accompanying Scindia throughout his tours post-corona infection.

His contact trail is longer than that of Scindia. He has been in touch with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Mishra was present during Scindia's meetings with the MLAs and the swearing in ceremony of the MP ministry on July 2.

BJP sources say there is concern over the possible list of people who will be put in isolation to check the spread of the virus.

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