Tag: Citing

Excise policy case: Delhi court grants bail to 2 accused citing ‘insufficient evidence’

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New Delhi: A Delhi court has granted bail to two accused persons in a money laundering case related to alleged excise scam, saying the evidence was not sufficient for the case against them to be considered prima facie “genuine”.
Special Judge M K Nagpal granted the relief to Rajesh Joshi and Gautam Malhotra on a personal bond of Rs two lakh each and one surety of like amount.
The same judge had dismissed AAP leader Manish Sisodia’s bail plea in the case on April 28 and in a related corruption case, being probed by the CBI, on March 31.

In connection with the bail plea by Joshi, the court said it was of the prima facie view that the evidence was not sufficient to make it believe that the case against him was genuine or that he was going to be held guilty of the offence of money laundering.
On Gautam Malhotra, the court said that the case of the prosecution as based on oral and documentary evidence “cannot be prima facie considered to be a genuine case”.
The judge further said in the order passed on May 6 that the mere apprehension that the accused may resort to commission of an offence again will not be sufficient to oppose bail.
He observed that Joshi was not in the liquor business and admittedly, he was also not a participant in any of the meetings which allegedly took place among the other co- accused or conspirators of the criminal conspiracy in connection with the formulation of the now-scrapped excise policy or its implementation.
Joshi is also not alleged to be a member of the ‘South lobby’ or the ‘liquor lobby’ of any region and hence, admittedly, he is not among the persons who are alleged to have paid the kickbacks to co- accused Sisodia or his other associates, and he is also not a recipient of the kickbacks or bribes, he noted.

On the ED’s claim that Joshi was involved in the transfer of advance kickback amount of around Rs 20 -30 crore that was allegedly used in the AAP election campaign for the 2022 Goa assembly polls, the court said there was nothing on record at this stage to link these payments.
It noted Joshi was arrested on February 8 and even prior to that, he was stated to have joined the investigation of this case, as well as that of the connected case being probed by the CBI.
Regarding Malhotra, it noted the ED had claimed that he had paid Rs 2.5 crore as bribe or kickbacks for the ‘South liquor lobby’ and this fact was specifically stated by co-accused Amit Arora.
However, it pointed out that approver Dinesh Arora expressed total ignorance about this transaction. “The statements on this aspect made by the approver cannot be sidelined or ignored at this stage as he is a star witness,” the judge said.
The court further dismissed the ED’s contention that Malhotra formed a cartel by participation in the liquor business of Delhi at all the three levels of manufacturing, wholesale and retail, and thus, he became a member of the super cartel and the criminal conspiracy with the other co- accused.
“Though the above cartel might have been formed in violation of provisions of the excise policy… it appears to be a pure business cartel formed to push the sale of liquor brands of the manufacturing unit(s) of the applicant,” it said.
The court noted it was the admitted case of prosecution that Malhotra had not played any role in the formulation of the excise policy and was even not a part of the ‘South lobby’ paying advance kickbacks of Rs 100 crore.
“Again, he is also not alleged to have paid any such advance kickbacks to co -accused Vijay Nair, other politicians of AAP or other public servants before or in connection with the formulation of the said policy,” the judge said.
The only allegation of payment of any money or bribe against him is in the form of payment of Rs 2.5 crore to co -accused Amit Arora in May 2022, when this policy had already been in operation for a considerable time, he noted.
Even the evidence in the form of a statement by co -accused Amit Arora about the payment of Rs 2.5 crore bribe by him is not convincing enough, the court said.
Regarding the ED’s claim that the accused received proceeds of crime of Rs 48.9 lakh through excess credit notes, it said no specific or connecting evidence showing any such cash payments against the amounts of credit notes has been produced.
The judge said Malhotra also deserved to be granted default bail since the ED filed an “incomplete” supplementary complaint against him and “it has apparently been filed to scuttle or defeat the right of applicant to seek default bail”.
He added that neither Joshi nor Malhotra can be considered a flight risk. The court directed both the accused persons not to leave the country without its permission or threaten or influence witnesses.
However, it is made clear that the observations made in this order are only for the purpose of deciding the bail applications of the applicants and nothing contained in this order shall tantamount to the expression of any opinion on merits of the case, the judge said.
Sisodia, who was arrested on March 9, is currently in judicial custody in the case. The court on April 28 dismissed his bail application in the case, saying the evidence prima facie “speaks volumes of his involvement in commission of the offence”.
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#Excise #policy #case #Delhi #court #grants #bail #accused #citing #insufficient #evidence
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 7, 2023
Auto union withholds support for Biden, citing electric vehicles

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He said he and other leaders recently met with Biden administration officials to push their case.
“We were very adamant that if the government is going to funnel billions in taxpayer money to these companies, the workers must be compensated with top wages and benefits,” he said. “A ‘just transition’ has to include standards for our members and future workers.”
The Biden campaign did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
UAW endorsed Biden in the 2020 race, citing his historic support for labor. The union has more than 400,000 active members in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, according to its website.
The union’s threat exposes a rift between two key Democratic constituencies.
Biden, who considers himself a “car guy,” has made electrifying cars a major piece of his climate change agenda. He’s set a goal of 50 percent of new car sales being electric by 2030, and EPA proposed a regulation last month that could even exceed that goal.
But while organized labor has generally endorsed electrification, unions have been uneasy about what the transition could mean for workers. With simpler drivetrains and the need for plants to retool, the EV push has already led to big job changes.
“Right now, we’re focused on making sure the EV transition does right by our members, our families and our communities,” Fain wrote. “We’ll be ready to talk politics once we secure a future for this industry and the workers who make it run.”

But Fain ruled out backing former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president, saying another Trump term “would be a disaster.”
“We need to get our members organized behind a pro-worker, pro-climate, and pro-democracy political program that can deliver for the working class.”
A version of this report first ran in E&E News PM. Get access to more comprehensive and in-depth reporting on the energy transition, natural resources, climate change and more in E&E News.
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#Auto #union #withholds #support #Biden #citing #electric #vehicles
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

May 4, 2023
Trump seeks delay of defamation trial, citing ‘media frenzy’ caused by Manhattan indictment

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Tacopina acknowledged that Trump draws blanket media coverage at nearly all times — but he said Google searches indicated a particularly intense surge of coverage of the charges brought by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg earlier this month. Those charges include claims that Trump falsified business records to conceal hush money payments to a porn star to cover up an affair. Because those charges relate to Carroll’s claims of “sexual misconduct,” Tacopina said, there’s a particularly acute risk that jurors in the civil trial will conflate the issues.
Kaplan has seemed intent on charging ahead with Trump’s civil case despite the surrounding chaos caused by the indictment. He recently backed a bid to permit jurors in the civil trial anonymity, citing the potential threats to their safety caused by Trump’s rhetoric — particularly toward Bragg and the judge in his criminal case.
But Trump’s effort to delay the civil case until at least May 23 underscores the extraordinary challenge of subjecting a former president — particularly one who garners intense media coverage at all times — to a civil or criminal trial before an impartial jury.
Trump’s tangle of legal threats is only likely to intensify, as several other criminal matters approach the charging stage. That includes an investigation by Atlanta-area DA Fani Willis, who has said charging decisions for Trump and his allies are “imminent” in a case about his bid to subvert Georgia’s election laws in 2020. At the federal level, special counsel Jack Smith appears to be reaching the final stages of his probe into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving office, and he’s begun penetrating Trump’s inner circle in a separate probe of Trump’s bid to subvert the 2020 election.
Tacopina didn’t mention those other looming matters. Rather he said he expected a “cooling off” period after the Manhattan indictment to arrive by late May, when the immediacy of the Bragg news had faded. The next big milestone in that case, he said, was in August, when Trump is expected to file a motion to dismiss his case.
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#Trump #seeks #delay #defamation #trial #citing #media #frenzy #caused #Manhattan #indictment
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 12, 2023
Aurangabad renaming: AIMIM halts agitation citing attempts to disturb communal harmony

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Aurangabad: An ongoing agitation to protest the renaming of Maharashtra’s Aurangabad will be halted ahead of a rally here on Sunday, said AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel, claiming that attempts are being made to disturb communal harmony in the city.
“People are coming from outside (out of Aurangabad) to address the rally organized by Sakal Hindu Samaj here. We have brought our agitation to a halt. Now it is the responsibility of the police to maintain peace,” Jaleel told reporters after meeting city police chief Nikhil Gupta on Friday.
Jaleel said a relay hunger strike, which started nearly two weeks ago, outside the collector’s office will be paused from Saturday.
“We shall continue to make efforts to strengthen the legal battle against the renaming,” said the MP from All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).
The Union government last month approved the renaming of Aurangabad city as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’ and that of Osmanabad city as Dharashiv’. Aurangabad derives its name from Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, while Osmanabad was named for a 20th century ruler of the princely state of Hyderabad.
Jaleel said attempts are being made to disturb the peace. He said, “People who are facing cases for making provocative speeches are going to come and address the rally here on Sunday.”
The lawmaker said their agitation has been peaceful. “Now, efforts are on to give the renaming issue a communal colour,” he said.
He said it is the responsibility of police to ensure that no hateful speeches are given in Sunday’s rally.

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#Aurangabad #renaming #AIMIM #halts #agitation #citing #attempts #disturb #communal #harmony
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 18, 2023
Court Shifts Congress Minister’s Molestation Case Trail to Jammu, Citing Security Reasons

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SRINAGAR: Agreeing to the plea that a fair trial in Kashmir is challenging for him, the High Court has transferred the trial of erstwhile health minister Shabir Khan to Jammu. He has been accused of molesting a lady doctor, who happens to be the wife of a separatist politician.
“It is not in dispute that respondent No 2, (complainant) who happens to be wife of a separatist leader, wields some influence amongst certain sections of people living in the valley who subscribe to his ideology,” the transfer order issued on February 22, 2023, by the court of Mr Justice Sanjay Dhar reads. “It is a fact of common knowledge that incidents of attacks on mainstream politicians and the people who do not subscribe to the separatist’s ideology are still taking place in Kashmir Valley. Therefore, it cannot be stated that apprehension expressed by the petitioner to his life at Srinagar while facing trial before the court is unfounded.”
In his plea, Shabir Ahmad Khan, the Congress party’s minister of state for health in Jammu and Kashmir has said that his defence lawyer, Mohammad Abdullah Pandit, refused to represent him in the court after he received a threat to his life. Later, Khan stated that he approached two more lawyers – Maroof Kha and Showkat, but they refused to plead his case.
Shabir A Khan (Congress)
“It is further submitted that the atmosphere surrounding the court premises is highly surcharged and hostile and whenever, he appears before the court, slogans are being raised against him inside and outside the court premises,” the order details Khan’s plea. “It is averred that at the time when the case is being taken up for hearing, the court remains jam-packed and the petitioner apprehends grave and serious bodily attack from the crowd which gathers over there, upon the instigation of the separatists.”
The court found merit in the plea and transferred the case to a Jammu court. The transfer was directed on basis of the status of the petitioner and background of the complainant as the court observed that “it appears that fair and impartial trial of the case that has been filed against the petitioner on the basis of the complaint lodged by respondent No 2, may not be possible at Srinagar”.
The case is an older one. On basis of the complaint filed by the lady doctor, the Jammu and Kashmir Police registered a case against Khan on February 6, 2014, at Shaheed Gunj police station for offences punishable under section 354 (outraging modesty of woman) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC). Khan resigned from the ministry within days.
This also led to his resignation as health minister in Omar Abdullah government on February 7, 2014. His party had advised him to put in his papers till an inquiry will find out the details about the allegations levelled against him. Khan, then represented Rajouri in the erstwhile state assembly.
In her complaint, the lady doctor had alleged that she was repeatedly summoned by Khan’s staff to meet the minister about some announcements made by the health minister in Delhi. The complainant claimed that even though she insisted the minister must get details from senior officials, still, she was compelled to report at the minister’s office on January 28.

The woman alleged that when she reached Khan’s office at the Secretariat, he acted like a “sexual predator” and made provocative advances – both verbal and physical. Besides, the minister offered her many favours despite her resentment. Later the police registered a case on basis of the complaint.
Police investigated the case and submitted the charge sheet. Now, Khan moved the High Court and sought the case transfer to Jammu. His petition claims that he is a politician was “falsely implicated” “due to political rivalry”, in order “to tarnish his image”.
The case is listed for trial on April 12, 2023, in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Jammu
The transfer of the case, interestingly, has off-court implications as well. “The ruling came at a time the Centre has been hard-selling an all-is-well line on Kashmir,” Kolkata-based newspaper Telegraph reported.

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#Court #Shifts #Congress #Ministers #Molestation #Case #Trail #Jammu #Citing #Security #Reasons
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

February 26, 2023