A special court in Mumbai on Wednesday granted bail to Shiv Sena member of Parliament Sanjay Raut in a money laundering case pertaining to the Patra Chawl redevelopment project.
The third day of the five-day hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court, presided over by Justice Samuel Goozee, was devoted to the defence laying out further arguments against a prima facie case of fraud and money laundering against Modi.
Supreme Court judge Justice D Y Chandrachud has termed the delay in communicating bail orders to prison authorities as a "very serious deficiency" and stressed the need to address it on a "war footing" as it touches the "human liberty" of every undertrial prisoner.
Amid a general alert across Mumbai, a thick security blanket has been thrown in and around Arthur Road Jail where a special court will pronounce its verdict in the Mumbai terror attacks case tomorrow.
The UK court, which had been presented with detailed submissions regarding the precarious mental health of Nirav Modi and a family history of depression and suicide during the extradition proceedings, concluded on Thursday that the diamond merchant's state of mind may well benefit from a move from his London prison cell to Barrack 12 at Mumbai Central Prison on Arthur Road. As part of a very comprehensive judgment handed down by District Judge Samuel Goozee at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London in which he found a prima facie case of fraud and money laundering against the 49-year-old diamond merchant, it is noted that Modi's risk of suicide may be high but there is no evidence to point to immediate suicidal intentions. The judgment refers to the expert defence witness who had assessed Modi, forensic psychiatrist Andrew Forrester, to point out that Barrack 12 may well be a positive change from Wandsworth Prison in south-west London where he is being held on judicial remand, with the COVID-19 pandemic playing a "significant role" in the deterioration of his "depressive disorder".
The case will now be listed in the coming weeks for a hearing before a judge, where Mallya's legal team and the Crown Prosecution Service will go to reiterate factors for and against the businessman's extradition to Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai.
A scuffle broke out between at least 40 accused, allegedly involved in the 7/11 serial train bomb blasts, Malegaon blast and arms and ammunition seizure case of Aurangabad, and Arthur Road jail authorities while they were being transferred to prisons in Maharashtra. Defence advocate Shahid Azmi said the accused were being transferred to Nagpur, Ratnagiri and Kolhapur prisons last Saturday.
Bombay high court, describing the condition of former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal as "stable".
Citing security reasons, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday opposed the plea of Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, alleged LeT operative, urging that he be removed from the solitary confinement of a cell in Arthur Road Central prison and be kept with other undertrials.
A local court, while granting bail to businessman Raj Kundra, a key accused in a pornographic films case, noted that the element of inducement, which is the prime ingredient in cheating offences, appears to be missing from the case presented by the prosecution.
It was a routine day in prison for 26/11 convict Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, who appeared unaware about the havoc created by him and nine other Pakistani terrorists in the city, three years ago.
On July 2, Mallya's legal team and the Crown Prosecution Service - arguing on behalf of the Indian government - will go head to head to reiterate factors for and against the businessman's extradition to Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai.
Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving Pakistani perpetrator of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, received the news of arrest of his Hindi teacher and Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative Abu Jundal with shock.
"Salem was attacked by Mustafa Dossa with a sharp object. He was injured and doctors are treating him inside the jail. A police team is at the spot," Vasant Tajane, Senior Inspector at N M Joshi Marg police station, told PTI.
Mallya said the allegations of money laundering and stealing money against him are 'completely false'.
The state police has also requested the government to deploy paramilitary forces around the jail premises for the underworld don's security.
Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab, awarded death penalty in the 26/11 attacks case, would be among those who would be counted in the 15th national census, as part of the population enumeration exercise.
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed that former Unitech promoters Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra be shifted from Tihar Jail in Delhi to Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail and Taloja prison in Maharashtra after the ED said they were conducting business from the premises in connivance with the staff.
'We met more than 250 prisoners at random and Kasab was one amongst them,' Eknath Khadse said, trying to pacify the BJP's ally in the state, the Shiv Sena, who has taken umbrage to the visit.
Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab has moved the Supreme Court challenging his conviction and death sentence in the 28/11 Mumbai attacks.
Fahim Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, acquitted in the 26/11 attacks case and currently lodged in Arthur Road jail, are yet to be shifted to Uttar Pradesh prisons as the Mumbai police have still not decided on their escorting team, sources said. Fahim and Sabauddin, allegedly involved in the terror attack on the Central Reserve Police Force camp at Rampur in UP on December 31, 2007, were brought to Mumbai in December 2008.
Fahim Ansari and Sabauddin, who were acquitted in the Mumbai terror attacks case recently, will soon be shifted from the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai to the central prison in Bareilly in connection with the 2007 attack on a Central Reserve Police Force group centre at Rampur in Uttar Pradesh.
After 'mutton biriyani', 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Ajmal Kasab now wants 'basmati' rice served to him in jail.
The court allowed Raut's plea for home food and medicines, but refused to pass an order on his prayer for bedding.
The death of the biggest mass murderer on Indian soil is evident with the special court handing out the death sentence to Ajmal Kasab. Even though he is a Pakistani national tried in the Indian court, all norms prescribed will apply to him since he has been convicted under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code.
A British court on Tuesday opened the continuation appeal hearing in the extradition case of Nirav Modi, who is wanted in India on the charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to an estimated $2 billion in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan scam case. The 51-year-old diamond merchant had lodged an appeal last year against his extradition order on mental health grounds. Lord Justice Jeremy Stuart-Smith and Justice Robert Jay presided over an initial hearing at the High Court in December last year to determine whether District Judge Sam Goozee's Westminster Magistrates' Court ruling from February 2021 in favour of extradition was incorrect to overlook the diamond merchant's "high risk of suicide".
The high court had on December 12 granted bail to the 73-year-old NCP leader in the case but said the order will be effective after 10 days
The British home secretary has granted permission for jeweller Nirav Modi's extradition to India. During their arguments in a London court, his lawyers claimed Modi suffers from mental illness and is a suicide risk if he was sent to Mumbai's Arthur Road jail. A fascinating excerpt from Danish Khan and Ruhi Khan's Escaped: True Stories Of Indian Fugitives In London.
The much-awaited trial in the 26/11 terror attack case is all set to begin in Mumbai today amid high security in a special bomb-proof court inside the city's largest prison.
An Assistant Sub Inspector of police was injured when rival gangmembers of Chhota Rajan and Dawood Ibrahim's gangs clashed in a Mumbai jail.
A special court here on Wednesday denied bail to Aryan Khan, the son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, observing that 'on the face of it', he was indulging in "illicit drug activities on a regular basis".
Actor Sanjay Dutt, a convict in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, was on Monday granted a 14-day extension of his leave of furlough, jail authorities said.
The Bombay High Court on Monday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation for its response on the bail plea of former media baron Peter Mukerjea, arrested for his alleged involvement in the murder of his wife Indrani's daughter Sheena Bora.
Rai had moved an application in the court last month seeking to become an approver and sought pardon. CBI, too, said that they have no objection to making Rai an approver.
'Mumbai is at a peak, from here it can only be a downward trend.'
The continuation appeal hearing in the extradition case of Nirav Modi, the fugitive diamond merchant wanted in India to face charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to an estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, is listed to be heard in the high court in London on June 28. The 51-year-old diamond merchant had lodged an appeal against his extradition order on mental health grounds. "The hearing is listed for the 28th June," confirmed the Royal Courts of Justice administrative office last week.
Saying that prison inmates do not cease to be human beings and can't be deprived of the fundamental right to life, the Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the Maharashtra government to transfer alleged Maoist leader Nirmala Uppuganti from jail to a hospice for palliative care on account of her terminal cancer.
Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case, was admitted to hospital on Monday after he complained of fever and diarrhoea, his lawyer told a special court in Mumbai and claimed that Malik's health had deteriorated and he was in a "serious" condition.
Rajya Sabha member Raut questioned why Gandhi was raking up issues which touch the people's emotional chord and giving the Bharatiya Janata Party a chance on a platter to divert attention.
