The counsel for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) also reiterated that the Covid-19 situation under its area is “under 100% control”. (Representational)Mumbai Live News and Updates: For the first time since the latest surge in coronavirus cases began in Mumbai, the slum-dominated Dharavi area of the metropolis on Friday recorded no new infections, a civic official said.
Kiran Dighavkar, Assistant Municipal Commissioner, G- North ward, said new cases fell to zero in the densely-populated area after 39 days. It had recorded zero cases last on December 20, 2021.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government, while responding to PILs alleging improper pandemic management, told the Bombay High Court on Friday that the Covid-19 situation in the state is “fully under control” and “the government is geared to meet any eventuality arising out of further spread of Omicron variant.”
On the case front, Mumbai on Friday recorded 1,835 new Covid-19 cases, taking the total active cases in the city to 18,040.
The Supreme Court Friday set aside the suspension of the 12 Maharashtra BJP MLAs from the Assembly for one year, saying the decision was “arbitrary, unconstitutional and illegal.” A number of BJP members including Devendra Fadnavis welcomed the “historic” decision and congratulated the MLAs “who were fighting for the cause of OBCs in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly during the monsoon session.”
The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court, earlier this month while hearing bail plea of two accused booked for sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl, expressed displeasure over the acts of father of the victim of “donating” his daughter to a “baba” (godman), by executing ‘daanpatra’ (deed of donation).
A single-judge bench of Justice Vibha V Kankanwadi referred to the “daanpatra” and observed, “It is stated that the father of the girl has given his daughter in donation (Daan) to the Baba and it is stated that the said Kanyadan has been made in presence of the god. When the girl as per her own statement is minor, then why does the father, who is in all respect the guardian of the girl, give the girl as Daan ? A girl is not a property which can be given in donation.”
The bench was hearing bail applications of Shankeshwar alias Shambhu Dhakne and Sopan Dhanke, argued through advocates S S Thombre and B P More, respectively. Read more
For the first time since the latest surge in coronavirus cases began in Mumbai, the slum-dominated Dharavi area of the metropolis on Friday recorded no new infections, a civic official said.
Kiran Dighavkar, Assistant Municipal Commissioner, G- North ward, said new cases fell to zero in the densely-populated area after 39 days. It had recorded zero cases last on December 20, 2021.
The area now has 43 active cases, 11 of them hospitalized, Dighavkar added. Read more
A-23-year old resident of Sachinam Heights on Mumbai's Grant Road succumbed to his injuries on Friday evening. According to the BMC officials, Dhaval Salkar who was getting treated at Bhatia Hospital died around 5 pm.
The death toll in the fire incident at Sachinam Heights has now reached nine.
BMC officials said that a total 30 people were injured in the fire out of which nine lost their lives, five are in critical condition, three are stable and 13 have been discharged after treatment.
Two BJP councillors on Friday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Maharashtra government's ordinance notifying the increase of nine seats in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for which elections are scheduled in February.
A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana was urged by senior advocate Siddharth Bhatnagar that the appeal of the BJP leaders needed an urgent hearing as polls for the municipal body are round the corner. (PTI)
The Maharashtra government, while responding to PILs alleging improper pandemic management, told the Bombay High Court on Friday that the Covid-19 situation in the state is “fully under control” and “the government is geared to meet any eventuality arising out of further spread of Omicron variant.”
The counsel for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) also reiterated that the Covid-19 situation under its area is “under 100% control” as the positivity is going down and the government is also taking steps towards “reopening”.
The court referred to the opinions of experts and said that while the Omicron variant was “less lethal” than other variants including Delta, “it spreads fast” which requires it to be controlled by the authorities and said that it would take stock of the situation during the next hearing. Read more
The Bombay High Court Friday recalled its January 25 order of reserving for judgment in a PIL by an advocate seeking direction to the Maharashtra government to appoint permanent Director General of Police (DGP) as per recommendations made by the empanelment committee of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
The court said that while it had reserved the matter for a verdict, while writing the order, it found that there were “direct allegations” levelled against acting DGP Sanjay Pandey in the PIL, therefore, it was inclined to make Pandey as a respondent in the case.
The PIL filed by advocate Datta Shrirang Mane had also sought the government to place records in connection with the “inordinate delay” in not following the Supreme Court directions, which had said that appointments of a permanent DGP should be made from a list of three officers recommended by the UPSC. Read more
Two of the three accused arrested last week on Friday from Haryana in the Clubhouse app case have tested positive for Covid-19 and sent to a quarantine centre. The custody of all three accused ended on Friday and all three were sent to judicial custody by a magistrate court, which observed that further police custody was not justified. Their lawyers immediately applied for bail and the pleas of all accused will be heard on Monday.
All are accused of voice-chatting in a public group on the Clubhouse app, a social audio app, where they allegedly talked about raping women and auctioning their body parts.
Akash Suyal, 19, an HSC student, Jaishnav Kakkar, 20, a BCom student, have tested positive for Covid-19 and sent to a quarantine facility while Yashkumar Parashar (22), a law student, was sent to judicial custody. Parashar’s lawyers requested the magistrate to keep him in quarantine centre of jail for few days as he too may develop symptoms. Read more
The National Equestrian Championship of show jumping will begin on Saturday at the Amateur Riders Club (ARC) at Mahalakshmi race course in Mumbai, the national federation announced on Friday.
Athletes aged 14 and above will be eligible for participation in the seven-day event, the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) said in a release. Athletes from Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata along with host city Mumbai, will compete in the annual event.
The competition will be in five catagories -- Novice, Grade III, Grade II, Grade I and Grand Prix.
Shyam Mehta, President of Amateur Riders Club (ARC) Mahalaxmi Race Course, said, "In terms of precautions, we've made sure to abide by all the rules and guidelines laid down by the authorities. The safety of players, teams and staff is the top priority for us. We wish all of the participants the very best." (PTI)
A team of policemen were allegedly attacked by a group of 13 persons when they tried to prevent illegal slaughter of cows in Maharashtra's Palghar district, police said on Friday. Based on a tip-off that stolen cows were being slaughtered at a meat shop and house, a team of four policemen went to probe the same in Tarapur on Wednesday evening, police PRO Sachin Navadkar said.
The team, led by a constable, reached a house in Tarapur and found the accused slaughtering a cow. The accused attacked them with sharp weapons and injured them, the official said.
Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis also welcomed the "historic" Supreme Court decision on Friday and congratulated the MLAs " who were fighting for the cause of OBCs in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly during the monsoon session."
"We welcome and thank the SC for the historic decision of quashing of suspension of our 12 BJP Maharashtra MLAs, who were fighting for the cause of OBCs in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly during the monsoon session. This decision of the Hon SC will save the democratic values & it is a yet another tight slap on the face of MVA Govt for it’s unconstitutional, unethical, unfair, illegal & undemocratic actions & activities," Fadnavis said.
The BJP (MLA) Ashish Shelar on Friday said the Supreme Court decision is a slap on the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. "Its failure to comply with the legislative procedures has resulted in such verdict. The MVA government has from the very beginning violated all the laid norms in legislative functioning. Its decision to suspend 12 MLAs was purely with political vengeance. The apex court result has established that partisan politics and party agendas cannot be justified," Shelar said.
BJP MLA Girish Mahajan, one of the suspended MLAs on Friday said that the SC judgement is a slap on the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government. "The suspension was an act of vendetta by the government. They wanted to keep as away from the elections that were to be held for the speakers post. This order to keep us out of the assembky for a year which meant we could not raise the issues affecting our constituency was unjust. They could have suspended us for one session. The SC judgement is fair and has undone the wrong that was done to us," Mahajan said.
The Supreme Court on Friday set aside the suspension of the 12 Maharashtra BJP MLAs from the Assembly for one year, saying the decision was "arbitrary, unconstitutional and illegal."
A bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar said the MLAs cannot be suspended beyond the session. Reinstating them, the court held that the resolutions are malice in the eyes of law, ineffective and “beyond the powers of the Assembly”.
The sale of wine will be allowed in supermarkets and walk-in stores in Maharashtra, the state cabinet decided on Thursday. Opposition BJP slammed the decision, saying that the government was promoting liquor. The decision was taken to give a boost to fruit-based wineries which provide additional income to farmers, Minister for Skill Development Nawab Malik told reporters.
A statement from the Chief Minister's Office said "shelf-in-shop" method will be adopted in supermarkets and walk-in-stores which have area of 100 sq mt or more and which are registered under the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments Act. But the supermarkets which are near places of worship or educational institutions can not sell wine. Further, wine sale will not be allowed in the districts where prohibition is in force.
A day after BJP, VHP and Bajrang Dal workers staged a protest against the `naming' of a public garden in suburban Malvani area for Tipu Sultan, police on Thursday registered two FIRs against 51 persons. BJP MP Gopal Shetty, Mumbai BJP chief Mangal Prabhat Lodha and MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar were named in the FIRs, among others, said an official. The protesters had opposed alleged naming of the garden after the 18th century Mysore ruler, claiming that Tipu Sultan persecuted Hindus.
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has submitted a proposal to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) seeking approval for a multicentric study to probe cases of Avascular Necrosis (AVN), or death of bone tissue, among Covid patients from the second wave last year primarily due to steroid use and blood clots.
With hospitals across the country continuing to report such cases, AIIMS-Delhi itself has treated over 50 patients. Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai undertook hip replacement of 10 AVN patients and several other hospitals across Delhi, Mumbai and other cities have reported an average of 10 cases.
The proposal for a multicentric study was submitted to ICMR by Dr Rajesh Malhotra, head of orthopaedics and chief of trauma centre at AIIMS. Regions like Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala, which reported high caseloads during the second wave, are expected to be covered.
Maharashtra on Thursday recorded 25,425 new coronavirus cases, a drop of more than 10,000 compared to the previous day, and 42 deaths, the state health officials said. The new cases included 72 Omicron infections. The state's COVID-19 case tally rose to 76,30,606 and death toll reached 1,42,358. The case fatality rate stands at 1.86 per cent. On Wednesday, the state had recorded 35,756 cases and 79 fatalities. With 36,708 patients discharged in the last 24 hours, the number of recovered patients rose to 71,97,001.
Former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Thursday filed a bail application before a special court here in an alleged money laundering case. The NCP leader has filed a regular bail application for the first time. Earlier, the special court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act had rejected his `default' bail plea (plea made on technical grounds). Deshmukh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on November 2, 2021, and is currently in judicial custody.
A fire broke out at a furniture godown in the Sumaras Chamunda Complex of Bhiwandi area in Thane, in the early hours of Friday, news agency ANI reported.While the fire has now spread to three more godowns in the complex, the Bhiwandi Fire Department has said that four fire tenders are in the process of dousing it. No injury or casualty has been reported, the department said.
Unidentified miscreants on Thursday ransacked a private hospital here and assaulted a doctor following a patient's death, police said, new agency PTI reported. The incident took place at Kunal Hospital in Mankapur area around 11 am. A case of rioting was registered at Mankapur police station. Director of the hospital Shishir Shrivastav told reporters that some persons brought a patient around 10.50 am.