The ED today urged a Delhi court to recall its earlier order granting permanent exemption from personal appearance to liquor baron Vijay Mallya in a case for allegedly evading summons issued by the agency in connection with purported violation of foreign exchange rules.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Sumit Dass, who was hearing final arguments in the case, was told by Enforcement Directorate (ED’s) prosecutor N K Matta that he would file an appropriate application in this regard within a week.
The court posted the matter for further hearing on May 20.
During the hearing, Matta argued that court should recall its December 2000 order by which Mallya was granted permanent exemption from personal appearance as a PMLA court in Mumbai has recently issued an open-ended warrant against Mallya, chairman of now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines in connection with a money laundering case.
He said the exemption order was passed by the court and the present status is that Mallya has gone abroad and in such situation, he will file an application seeking cancellation of exemption granted to Mallya.
Senior advocate Ramesh Gupta, who appeared for Mallya, said his client was earlier granted exemption from personal appearance on December 20, 2000 and he be exempted for today.
In the present case, the ED had alleged that Mallya had violated the provisions of Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) in arranging funds to advertise his company’s liquor products abroad.
ED had claimed that Mallya was summoned on four occasions for questioning in connection with a contract signed in December 1995 with London-based firm Benetton Formula Ltd for promotion of the Kingfisher brand abroad.
When Mallya failed to appear before ED in response to the summons, a complaint was filed on March 8, 2000 before a court here and later on charge was framed against him under section 56 of FERA.
According to ED, Mallya had allegedly paid 200,000 dollars to the British firm for displaying Kingfisher logo in Formula One World Championships in London and some European countries in 1996, 1997 and 1998.
The agency had claimed that the money was allegedly paid without prior approval from RBI in violation of FERA norms.PTI
“Bajrangi Bhaijaan” director Kabir Khan faced an ugly situation at the airport here on Wednesday when some protesters accosted him for showing Pakistan in bad light in his last film “Phantom”.
The director, 43, was in Karachi to attend a marketing seminar.
The incident took place when Kabir stepped out of his car at the Quaid-e-Azam international airport as he had to take a flight for Lahore.
The director was also confronted by a shoe-wielding protester in black shalwar kameez.
The angry protesters shouted ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ and anti-India slogans while confronting the director as he walked into the departure lounge.
They also asked Kabir why he did not make films about Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) activities in Pakistan.
Kabir did not react and proceeded towards the lounge.
Ironically, Kabir’s other film “Bhajrangi Bhaijaan” did roaring business in Pakistan last year and was lauded by everyone for promoting Indo-Pak ties.
“Phantom”, starring Saif Ali Khan-Katrina Kaif, about a retired army officer who leads a mission to seek out and kill the terror masterminds including Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, five years after the Mumbai terror attacks, was banned in Pakistan last year.
The director had defended his film during the seminar, insisting people misunderstood its purpose as he highlighted the role of bad elements in both countries.
Kabir later tweeted, “To media on both sides: 12 screaming lunatics with a mobile phone camera is not news. Please don’t give them the attention they want. Ignore.PTI
“Quantico” star Priyanka Chopra has criticised Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s call for banning Muslim immigrants, saying generalising a type of people is “really primitive”.
Priyanka was named by Time among 100 most influential people thanks to her blossoming career in Hollywood.
Trump is also on the list and both attended the gala last night.
“I just think you can’t put a ban on anyone. Generalizing a type of people is really primitive,” she said.
The 33-year-old star said the fight against domestic terrorism has grown so complex that “you can’t put a face on it anymore,” she added.
Trump has been already criticised by celebrities like George Clooney and wife Amal for his controversial comments.PTI.
The Supreme Court today directed the Sahara group to furnish details of all its properties in a sealed cover to ascertain the fact as to whether they are sufficient for paying back the entire amount to the investors.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur, however, refused to grant parole to Sahara chief Subrata Roy, who is in jail since March 4, 2014, saying that so far its orders have not been complied with “substantially”.
“We should know about the total assets of the Sahara group. What exactly is the extent of properties, we must know.
Currently, 66 properties of the group are scheduled to go on sale which will generate around Rs 6,000 crore.
“This might be enough for securing Roy’s bail but not to refund the entire money to investors. We want the rest of the properties to be brought into focus so you give us a list of properties,” the bench, also comprising Justices A R Dave and A K Sikri, said.
Senior advocate Rajeev Dhawan, appearing for Sahara, sought release of Roy on the ground of his “deteriorating” health and the fact that market regulator SEBI has already been authorised to sell 66 properties.
“The court should consider granting parole to him or put his client under house arrest. I am in substantial compliance of the orders of this court. SEBI has the property and the machinery. I am required for compliance of order of this court and I am not required for any offence. At this stage please consider all the factors and grant me parole. My client’s health has been deteriorating and he may not be able to survive another summer in jail,” Dhawan said.
To this, the bench said,”we don’t see substantial compliance unless the money is refunded to the investors. It does not give us pleasure to keep somebody in jail. See, there has to be change in circumstances and there has to be a subsantial compliance of our order.”
When the bench enquired about the total assets of Sahara in India and abroad, Dhawan sought two weeks time to seek instructions and produce the list of properties in a sealed cover to the court.
The matter is listed for hearing on May 11.
At the outset, senior advocate Arvind P Datar, appearing for SEBI, informed the court that the market regulator, in consultation with Justice B N Agrawal, has engaged services of SBI Capital Markets and HDFC Realty to sell properties of the Sahara Group.
He said the selling process of 66 properties will be completed in four months time and the first phase of the sale process would commence next week.PTI
The condition of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who was admitted to AIIMS with fever, chest congestion with features of pneumonia, is showing signs of improvement, the hospital today said.
“A medical team of specialists is looking after her. Her current condition is stable and she is showing signs of improvement,” a statement issued by AIIMS said.
A medical board has been constituted to formulate the combined treatment strategy for the minister.
64-year-old Swaraj was admitted to the Cardio-Neuro Centre of AIIMS on April 24.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today challenged the Congress to show the UPA government order blacklisting the Anglo-Italian helicopter maker AgustaWestland in connection with the VVIP chopper scam.
Parrikar, who said that he will speak in detail in Parliament on the issue in the near future, informed that the Ministry has received a copy of the Italian court order and is in the process of translating it into English.
He said that the process might take 8-10 days.
Parrikar also took a dig at Congress president Sonia Gandhi, saying translation from Italian was not easy, “at least for the ruling side. May not be a difficult task for the opposition”.
A combative Parrikar hit back when asked about Congress’ allegation that while UPA had blacklisted the company, the NDA government removed it from the blacklist.
“When did they blacklist? Ask them first. Ask them what date the order was issued? Show me the copy of the order,” the Minister said.
Asked if he meant that the firm was never blacklisted, he said, “I am not saying that”.
Interestingly, in a written reply to Rajya Sabha on February 5, 2014, the then Defence Minister A K Antony, while giving details on AgustaWestland, had said, “No decision has been taken till date to debar the said company”.
This runs contrary to what the Congress has been claiming because the reply came just months ahead of the regime change.
However, records of state-run HAL show that Agusta Westland International Ltd, UK, Finmeccanica, Italy and its group of companies, including subsidiaries and affiliates, IDS Tunisia and Infotech Design System (IDS), Mauritius, were blacklisted on July 3, 2014, when NDA was in power, because of the CBI case against them to inquire into alleged criminal wrongdoing in the procurement of VVIP Helicopters.
Hitting back at BJP on the VVIP chopper deal, Congress had yesterday alleged that AgustaWestland was “removed” from the blacklisted category by the Modi dispensation.
Congress leader and former Union Minister Anand Sharma had said, “The chopper deal was scrapped. Action was taken by the UPA government. A K Antony, the then Defence Minister, had made a statement in Parliament and Agusta Westland was blacklisted.PTI.
Children in Delhi were facing breathing difficulties due to rise in air pollution, Rajya Sabha was told today.
“Yes. The children of Delhi are facing breathing difficulties on account of a high rise in air pollution.
“In this regard, a study on ambient air quality respiratory symptoms and lung function of children of Delhi was conducted by Chittranjan National Cancer Institute in Kolkata under Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) during March 2003-August 2005,” Minister of State for Health Shripad Yesso Naik said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
He said “the study conducted on 11,628 children of Delhi showed that compared to control groups, Delhi’s children had 1.80 times more Upper Respiratory symptoms (sinusitis, running or stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat and common cold with fever)…”
“…and two times more lower respiratory symptoms (frequent dry cough, sputum producing cough, wheezing breath, breathlessness on exertion and disturbed sleep) suggesting higher prevalence of underlying respiratory diseases,” Naik said.
“A reduction of lung function 43.5 per cent in school children of Delhi compared with 27.7 per cent in control groups was seen, which was more prevalent in girls,” Naik said.
Control group denotes (in an experiment or clinical trial) a group of subjects closely resembling the treatment group in many demographic variables but not receiving the active medication or factor under study and thereby serving as a comparison group when treatment results are evaluated.
He said that the government has evolved an action plan to improve air quality in Delhi and NCR by taking steps, including control on vehicular emissions, control of road dust, re-suspension of dust, control of air pollution from biomass burning, control on industrial air pollution and control of air pollution from construction and demolition activities.PTI
The Supreme Court today dismissed beleagured Vijay Mallya’s prayer for protection from disclosure of his assets and those of his family, in India and abroad, to Kingfisher Airlines’ lenders, saying “no tangible” grounds have been raised to maintain secrecy of information.
“We don’t find any tangible objection in disclosing the assets (of Mallya, his wife and children) to banks,” a bench comprising Justices Kurian Joseph and R F Nariman said.
The bench directed the apex court registry to furnish to the lenders, a consortium of banks, the details of assets, both domestic and foreign, declared by the former liquor baron of himself and his family members, in sealed cover to the apex court.
The top court, which said Mallya has not complied with its April 7 order in its letter and spirit, observed that “the whole purpose of asking for disclosure was to give a fair idea to banks for entering into a meaningful and viable settlement.”
It asked the Debt Recovery Tribunal in Bengaluru to “expeditiously decide” within two months, the pleas of banks and financial institutions for recovery of their loans.
The direction was issued after Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi submitted that there was “total non-compliance” with the apex court’s April 7 order as Mallya was neither indicating the date of his return to the country to make an appearance before the court nor was he showing his bonafide for reaching a settlement with the lenders by not showing willingness to deposit a substantial part of the amount he owed them.
“He is a fugitive from justice in India,” the Attorney General said, adding the embattled businessman was playing “hide and seek” and cooking “cock and bull story”. Rohatgi said Mallya was “deliberately concealing something from the court” as he had “no intention to come back”.
However, senior advocates C S Vaidyanathan and Parag Tripathi, appearing for Mallya and his companies respectively, submitted that he was a “defaulter but not a wilful defaulter” and “here this is a case of business failure and not that of wilful default”.
Vaidyanathan submitted the accumulated loans of Kingfisher Airlines stood at Rs 16,000 crore in 2013 and all loans were given on the basis of personal assets of Mallya which is in the records of the banks. That being the case the liabilities cannot be attached to his estranged wife living abroad and NRI children who are protected under the law from disclosing their overseas assets, he contended.
Mallya has defaulted on repayment of loans of Rs 9,400 crore to a State Bank of India-led consortium.PTI.
Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan today said all information regarding the Panama Paper leaks, in which her name figures, were being given to the government.
The actress’s name had figured in the recent Panama Paper leaks for allegedly having links with offshore entities.
“A statement has been issued and that stands true. A statement has already been given individually as well as by the members of the family. A statement has already been given to the media.
“And rest, all the queries that need to be answered to the government of India is being done. Thank you,” Aishwarya told reporters here at an event, when asked about the Panama Paper leak.
The reported secret list, called ‘Panama Papers’, contains names of about 500 prominent Indians including megastar Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya besides politicians and businessmen.
The Panama Papers are a leaked set of 11.5 million confidential documents that provide detailed information about more than 214,000 offshore companies listed by the Panamanian corporate service provider Mossack Fonseca, including the identities of shareholders and directors of the companies.
Earlier, Bachchan had issued a statement saying that his name was “misused” and he was not aware of any of the companies mentioned in the report.
Aishwarya’s spokesperson had also called the information about her name cropping up in the list as “totally untrue and false.PTI..
Citing a large number of cases for probe coupled with acute manpower shortage, CBI Director Anil Sinha has demanded more personnel from states on deputation to the agency, saying if this is not done, the agency would collapse.
Appearing before a Parliamentary Committee, Sinha cited the increase in the number of cases referred to CBI by Supreme Court and High Courts and said the agency’s capacity for investigation was around 700 cases a year which has now almost doubled, necessitating more officers to supervise probes.
As per the submission made by the agency, a total of 1,200 cases and “62 foreign investigations” were pending. Of the total pending cases, 31 are pending for over three years.
A total of 1,531 posts were vacant in CBI as against its sanctioned strength of 7,274, as per the agency’s latest data.
Following the submission, the panel has asked the government to complete cadre review in the agency by June-end.
While deposing before the Committee, the Director, CBI, proposed to provide longer tenure to officers on deputation in the agency from the state and other central forces in addition to other steps taken to manage vacancies, said the report of Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, tabled in Parliament today.
“He, therefore, expressed that unless state governments provide the manpower by way of sending more of their personnel on deputation to the CBI, a time could come that CBI would collapse and fail,” it said.
The Committee expressed deep concern on the state of affairs relating to the vacant positions in CBI.
“It, therefore, impresses upon the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to complete the exercise of cadre review by June 30, 2016, as per the direction of the Supreme Court to deal with the vacancies in the establishment.
“The Committee is apprehensive that unless the present malady of massive vacancy is corrected immediately, the very purpose of establishment of the CBI would be eroded and its credibility tarnished,” the report said.PTI.
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