Delhi University professor GN Saibaba addresses the media following a raid at his residence in January 2014. (File/Express Photo By Amit Mehra)Mumbai News Today Live, Shiv Sena News: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hold a special sitting Saturday to hear Maharashtra’s plea against the Bombay High Court order acquitting former Delhi University Professor G N Saibaba in a case relating to his alleged Maoist links. A bench of Justice M R Shah and Justice Bela M Trivedi is likely to hear the matter at 11 am. Following the High Court acquitting Saibaba, the Maharashtra government swiftly moved the apex court seeking a stay on the order which was declined. The top court, however, allowed Maharashtra to move an application before the registry requesting an urgent listing of the matter.
The Supreme Court Friday refused to stay the acquittal of former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba, who was accused of Maoist links under sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and of criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The National Investigation Agency (NIA) moved the Supreme Court for stay hours after the Bombay High Court order. The apex court, however, allowed the NIA to move an application before the registry requesting for urgent listing.
In other news, heavy rainfall lashed Mumbai on Friday resulting in traffic jam in most parts of the city, especially in the western suburbs. Motorists are stuck on Saki Vihar road towards Sakinaka for over half an hour around 8 pm. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its update at 4 pm yesterday, said thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and light to moderate spells of rain with gusty winds reaching 30-40 kilometres per hour were likely to occur at isolated places in Mumbai, Palghar, Thane, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Beed, Parbhani, Hingoli, Nanded, Latur, Nasik, Aurangabad over the next three to four hours.
Rutuja Latke resigned on October 3, however, her resignation is yet to be accepted by the civic administration. (Express Photo)
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hold a special sitting Saturday to hear Maharashtra's plea against the Bombay High Court order acquitting former Delhi University Professor G N Saibaba in a case relating to his alleged Maoist links. A bench of Justice M R Shah and Justice Bela M Trivedi is likely to hear the matter at 11 am.
On Friday, the top court had refused to stay the Bombay High Court order. Following the High Court acquitting Saibaba, the Maharashtra government swiftly moved the apex court seeking a stay on the order which was declined. The top court, however, allowed Maharashtra to move an application before the registry requesting an urgent listing of the matter. (PTI)
A 21-year-old college student was allegedly molested by an autorickshaw driver and dragged with the vehicle in Maharashtra’s Thane city on Friday, police said. A video of the incident that took place in the city around 6.45 am surfaced on social media, an official said.
The woman was on her way to college when an autorickshaw driver standing on the road passed some remarks about her and when she questioned him, he caught hold of her hand and pulled her, senior inspector Jairaj Ranaware said. (Read more)
Thane district in Maharashtra has reported 111 new coronavirus positive cases, which took the tally of infections to 7,45,822, a health official said on Saturday.
These cases were recorded on Friday, and the district currently has 447 active cases. The death toll remained unchanged at 11,962 as nobody succumbed to the infection during the day, the official said, adding that the recovery count stood at 7,34,070. (PTI)
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday told the Bombay High Court that it will issue Occupancy Certificate (OC) to a developers only after they secure water connection certificate to get water supply from the civic body mainline.
The civic body made a submission in a plea by a petitioner who has claimed that he along with others were given possession of the flats in Integrated Arya at Narayan Nagar Ghatkopar (W) without municipal water supply.
During earlier hearing, the HC had pulled up the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and a developer who constructed a building at Ghatkopar and secured “part” Occupancy Certificate ( OC) for it without ensuring proper water connection, calling the state of affairs “symptomatic” of real estate projects across Mumbai. (Read more)
Several parts of Mumbai, especially the eastern suburbs, received heavy rains on Friday evening, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. The island city received 8.23 mm of rainfall, western suburbs 19.72 mm and eastern suburbs 27.66 mm of rainfall since 8 am. Some areas in eastern suburbs received upto 62 mm of rainfall, BMC data showed.
Vikhroli, Bhandup, Nahur and Malad received the highest rainfall between 4 pm and 7 pm. The metropolis did not report major waterlogging anywhere except on the 24th road in Sion area. Some buses of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) on the route were diverted. (PTI)
The Mumbai City Police’s Crime Branch Friday arrested two persons, including a ward boy of a private hospital along with a person involved in a tiffin delivery service, for allegedly posing as CBI officers and stealing Rs 10 lakh from a 70-year-old person earlier this week.
An officer said Rs 3.25 lakh and the bike on which the accused sped away from the scene of crime have been recovered. The police have learned that three others were also involved in the crime. Read more
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said the acquittal of former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba in a case of alleged Maoist links was "unfortunate and disappointing". There was a lot of evidence against him but he was acquitted on technical grounds which was unfortunate, Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio, told reporters here.
"I am thinking what must be the families of our policemen who were martyred in attacks by Naxalites going through after hearing about this. We have approached the Supreme Court against the acquittal and I believe we will get justice," he added. More than eight years after his arrest, the Bombay High Court on Friday acquitted Saibaba, 52, for want of valid sanction for prosecution under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. (PTI)
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The IMD on Friday said thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and light to moderate spells of rain with gusty winds reaching 30-40 kilometres per hour were likely to occur at isolated places in Mumbai, and parts of Maharashtra. (Express/Ganesh Shirsekar)
Due to heavy rains in Mumbai, all departures and arrival at the Chhatrapati Shivaji airport may get affected, SpiceJet tweeted.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday said the southwest monsoon has withdrawn from Nandurbar, Dhule and Jalgaon districts in north-central Maharashtra, much later than the usual pull out date of October 5, PTI reported. In its update at 4 pm, the IMD said thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and light to moderate spells of rain with gusty winds reaching 30-40 kilometres per hour were likely to occur at isolated places in Mumbai, Palghar, Thane, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Beed, Parbhani, Hingoli, Nanded, Latur, Nasik, Aurangabad over the next three to four hours. (PTI)
The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) on Friday said a temporary fare hike will be in place between October 21 and 31 for all bus services, barring the air-conditioned 'Shivneri' and 'Ashwamedh' classes. Issuing a press release on Friday evening, MSRTC said it has permission to hike fares up to 30 per cent during peak season, which is usually the summer holiday period and festivals such as Diwali.
"Therefore, the fares will go up in the range of Rs 5 to Rs 100. The temporary fare hike will be applicable only for ordinary, semi luxury, sleeper coach and Shivshahi services, and not for luxury Shivshahi and Ashwagandha classes. The fare hike will stand withdrawn on November 1," the release informed. "Those who have already booked their tickets for this period will have to pay the difference in fare during the journey. The fare hike, however, won't be applicable for monthly and trimonthly passes," it added. (PTI)
On Thursday, the Bombay High Court pulled up the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) asking it to issue a letter of acceptance to the resignation of Rutuja Latke, the proposed candidate of the Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray party for the Andheri (East) bypoll. The HC decision was yet another setback to the civic body, which has earned the courts’ wrath on several occasions in the recent past for what has been deemed as “mala fide” conduct favouring the ruling dispensation. Read more
Now that Mumbai has made wearing front and back seat belts mandatory while travelling in cars, it is being seen as a much-needed measure that should be applied all over India. This is pertinent because of India’s road crash severity. According to data by SaveLife Foundation, our country is at the top of the risk pyramid with 38.6 deaths per 100 crashes. Maharashtra, in fact, is the third state in the country to have registered the highest number of road crash deaths after Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Read the full story here
Thane municipal commissioner Abhijit Bangar on Friday asked officials to start beautification work in various areas of the city over the next 15 days keeping the target of January 15 next year to complete them. Chairing a meeting of civic officials during the day, he said those carrying out such beautification works must include local artists, students of Mumbai's prestigious JJ School of Arts, students of local art colleges.
"As part of this beautification initiative, wall painting work must begin along major roads and then cover smaller routes. Special emphasis must be given to slum areas and gaothans. The aim must be instil pride in the Thanekar about his city," Bangar said. (PTI)
A 28-year-old gym trainer, who duped a 30-year-old woman of Rs 13 lakh by promising to use his clout and get her a Canadian visa, has been arrested in Maharashtra’s Mumbai city, police said. The accused is presently in custody of the Samta Nagar police. The woman came in touch with him when she hired his services as a gym trainer to lose weight.
The complainant lives in Kandivali (west) and helps her father to run his business. The complainant had hired the accused Kiran Mandavkar, a Kalwa resident, as her personal gym trainer two years ago. The gym trainer had asked the woman about her future plans during a chat and she told him that she twice tried to get a student visa for Canada but her applications were rejected. Read more
The Mumbai traffic police on Friday issued an order based on provisions in the Motor Vehicles Act mandating the use of seat belts for all passengers seated in vehicles from November 1. This means that rear seat passengers too will have to wear seat belts, failing which action will be taken against them.
The death of Cyrus Mistry, the former chairman of Tata Sons, in a road accident in Maharashtra’s Palghar on September 4 had put the focus back on the importance of wearing seat belts. Mistry was seated in the rear seat with Jehangir Pandole, director at KPMG Global Strategy Group. Both were not wearing seat belts and both did not survive. Read more
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the acquittal of former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba, who was accused of having alleged Maoist links. The apex court asked NIA to move an application of urgent hearing.
The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court had acquitted Saibaba and five others, allowing their appeals and setting aside the life imprisonment sentence awarded to them in 2017 by a sessions court in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli, which had convicted them for alleged Maoist links.
Vasantha, G.N. Saibaba’s wife, said that the Bombay High court’s judgement acquitting him is the outcome of a “long wait for the truth.” “The court’s judgement is very happy news and it’s very welcome. G.N. Saibaba is a professor and an intellectual. This case has been a wait for the truth to come forward on this false case against him. I’m thankful to everyone who supported my struggle. I’m thankful to the judiciary and the advocates.”
The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday acquitted former Delhi University teacher G. N. Saibaba and five others, allowing their appeals and setting aside the life imprisonment sentence awarded to them in 2017 by a sessions court in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli, which had convicted them for alleged Maoist links. Read more
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Murji Patel as its candidate for the November 3 Andheri East Assembly by-election. He is the joint candidate of the BJP and the Shiv Sena faction headed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Patel is set to file his nomination papers on Friday, the last day of doing so.
“I am a worker of the BJP and do what the party asks me to do,” Patel said ahead of filing of the nomination papers here. Read here