The court observed that the applicant was named in a co-accused’s statement, and there was material to show the applicant had knowledge of the conspiracy
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Sashidhar Jagdishan, MD and CEO of HDFC Bank. File

‘The commercial interests of an airline have taken priority over crew fatigue and the safety of passengers’
| Photo Credit: PTI

Mumbai:

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday sought to know why plastic flowers were not included in the list of single-use plastic items banned by the Union government.

A division bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Bharati Dangre asked if the Centre thought that plastic flowers could be recycled, or are biodegradable.

The HC was hearing a petition filed by the Growers’ Flower Council of India (GFCI) seeking a direction to the Centre to prohibit the use of plastic flowers.

“Is the Union government sure that plastic flowers can be recycled, or that they are biodegradable? They are so flimsy. Can they be recycled?” the court asked, referring to the Centre’s affidavit stating that these flowers were not in the list of banned items.

The bench referred to a notifications issued by the Union government which stated that single-use plastics which cannot be recycled, or are not biodegradable, are banned. “Are you sure plastic flowers cannot be included in this list?” the bench asked.

The court directed the petitioner organisation to file an affidavit in response to the Centre’s stand in two weeks.

The petition claimed that the maximum thickness of plastic flowers used for decoration is usually 30 microns. Various notifications issued by both central and Maharashtra governments prohibit the production, stocking, distribution and sale of single-use plastic items including ones which are less than 100 micron thick, it said.

The notifications do not specifically mention plastic flowers. The government should ban plastic flowers with less than 100 micron thickness, the petition said.

The website of the Growers’ Flower Council of India describes it as an “association of independent growers, exporters of cut-flowers and ornamentals, input suppliers, florists, wedding decorators and each beneficiary in the chain of flower consumption by end users”.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

KIA Motors India manufacturing facility at Erramanchi in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. File photo
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Kia India has received a tax demand notice from the authorities over component imports even as the automaker has denied any wrongdoing noting that it has filed a “detailed response” regarding the matter.

As per industry sources, the tax authorities have slapped the automaker a notice to the tune of USD 155 million for wrong declaration of imports of components for the assembly of its premium model Carnival.

When contacted over the issue, the automaker stated that as a responsible and law-abiding brand, it is committed to following all regulatory requirements in its operations.

Kia India assures of transparency

“We have consistently cooperated with the authorities whenever required, and we remain dedicated to ensuring complete transparency throughout all processes,” it added.

It further said: “Regarding the current matter, we have already filed a detailed response, supported by comprehensive evidence and documentation to substantiate our stand.” However, as the issue is currently under consideration by the relevant authorities, the company said it would not be able to comment further or provide additional details on the matter.

“We remain committed to complying with all due processes and regulations,” it said.

Skoda Auto Volkswagen India, which represents the Volkswagen group in the country, has already filed a case against tax authorities over the ₹11,000 crore (about USD 1.4 billion) show cause notice for alleged customs duty fraud related to the import of cars as completely knocked down units.

The Bombay High Court is scheduled to hear the matter on February 17.

Abhinandan Lodha, Deputy Managing Director, Lodha Group.

Bombay High Court proposed the appointment of a mediator to resolve the alleged case of trademark breach by the House of Abhinandan Lodha (HoABL) over Macrotech Developers’ brand name “Lodha,” in a hearing on Monday (January 27, 2025).

“If it is agreeable I propose to give two weeks and I will appoint a mediator either by consent [among the parties] or otherwise, a mediator,” said Justice Arif Doctor to the parties reasoning that the genesis of the dispute is from two brothers and if that is sorted it would be resolved. The case has been listed again for January 28 for both parties to inform the court as to whether they are agreeable for settlement through a mediator.

Macrotech Developers Ltd, headed by Abhishek Lodha, filed a case of trademark breach on the HoABL and demanded an injunction to the tune of ₹5,000 crore in the Bombay High Court earlier this month. The plaintiff, Macrotech Developers claimed that they owned the brand name Lodha and had spent a significant amount of money to build it.

Also Read | Who is the real Lodha? Mumbai’s new sibling rivalry 

After Abhinandan Lodha split and started HoABL, a family settlement agreement in 2017 had forbid the use of the brand name, which the latter at first agreed to comply.

Abhishek Lodha and Abhinandan Lodha are sons of Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship who founded the company in 1980s.

Macrotech in their petition alleged that he later continued to use the word, despite multiple attempts to inform Mr.Abhinandan about the same. The company said that it was critical for them to protect their intellectual property rights and continued use of the word “Lodha” was leading to confusion of Macrotech customers, in a regulatory filing. HoABL maintained that the suit filed was because Macrotech Developers and its CEO Abhishek Lodha could not digest the success of the newly formed firm.

Mumbai:

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday said police officials committed dereliction of duty by failing to take prompt action in the Torres investment scam.

“Nobody has acted with alacrity,” a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale said.

The police “need to be alive to what is happening” and take prompt action so that commoners do not lose their hard earned money, it said.

The court also called for some mechanism to be put in place so that such scams could be avoided in future.

The jewellery company that owns the Torres brand is accused of cheating investors of crores of rupees through a combination of Ponzi and multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes.

The Mumbai police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has so far arrested three persons in the case, two of whom are foreign nationals.

City-based chartered accountant Abhishek Gupta last week moved the HC, claiming to be the whistle-blower in the case and seeking police protection.

The high court last week ordered the police to give security cover to Gupta and sought details of the probe being carried out in the case.

Public Prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar on Wednesday submitted a probe report to the high court.

He informed the bench that out of the 12 wanted accused in the case, eight left the country before December 30, 2024. Seven of these eight accused are Ukrainian nationals while one is Indian.

“The police know their locations as of now and also their travel history. Appropriate action would be taken,” Venegaonkar said.

The Navi Mumbai police were discreetly inquiring into the scam since October 2024, he added.

The bench then said if information (of the scam) was available, then why prompt action was not taken.

“Somewhere there has been dereliction of duty. Nobody has acted with alacrity. Information was there,” the HC said.

“Now see to it that it doesn’t happen again in future. Now you know the modus operandi. Police need to be alive to what is happening and take prompt action so that people do not lose their money, or there can be some mechanism in the future,” the bench added.

Venegaonkar informed the court that apart from the case being probed by the city police’s EOW, four more FIRs have been lodged in the case by the Navi Mumbai, Thane, Navghar and Mira Bhayandar police.

The high court said all the FIRs shall be probed by the EOW itself.

If the EOW wishes, then a special investigation team (SIT) could be constituted for a probe into the case, it said.

The bench posted the matter for further hearing after eight weeks.

Gupta, who had audited the accounts of Platinum Hern Pvt Ltd, the parent entity behind Torres, in his plea claimed the police were tipped of the alleged scam way back in June 2024 but no action was taken.

More than 3,700 investors have so far approached the Mumbai police with complaints of being cheated and the fraud amount is over Rs 57 crore, as per officials.

According to the complainants, the private firm owning the ‘Torres’ jewellery brand duped them on the promise of attractive returns on investment.

The scam came to light when hundreds of investors gathered at the jewellery brand’s store situated at Torres Vastu Centre building in Dadar (West) early this month after the company stopped paying sums promised to them.

Tazagul Xasatov, a Uzbekistan national, Valentina Ganesh Kumar, a Russian national, and Sarvesh Surve – all senior executives of the firm – have been arrested in the case.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh on the Enforcement Directorate for initiating a money laundering probe against a realty developer without “proper application of mind”, noting central agencies must conduct themselves within framework of law.

While imposing the fine on the ED, a single bench of Justice Milind Jadhav observed that a “strong message” needs to be sent to the law enforcement agencies to ensure citizens are not harassed.

The HC quashed process (summons/notice) issued to a Mumbai-based real estate developer, Rakesh Jain, by a special court in August 2014 based on a prosecution complaint filed by the anti-money laundering agency.

It was “high time that central agencies like the ED stopped taking the law in the own hands and harass citizens”, Justice Jadhav maintained.

The ED had launched money laundering probe against Rakesh Jain based on a police complaint lodged against him at the suburban Vile Parle police station by a property purchaser alleging breach of agreement and cheating.

Justice Jadhav, in his ruling, noted no case was made out against Jain and hence even the money laundering charges do not stand.

The HC said the action of the complainant as well as the ED in putting the criminal system into motion against Jain is “clearly malafide and calls for imposition of exemplary costs”.

“I am compelled to levy exemplary costs because a strong message needs to be sent to the law enforcement agencies like ED that they should conduct themselves within the parameters of law and that they cannot take law into their own hands without application of mind and harass citizens,” Justice Jadhav said.

The court directed the ED to pay the Rs 1 lakh cost to the HC library within four weeks. The bench also imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh on the original complainant (purchaser) in the case. This cost would be paid to the city-based Kirtikar Law Library.

The HC pointed out that an offence of money laundering is committed by an individual with a deliberate design and a motive to enhance his gains, disregarding the interest of the nation and society as a whole.

“It is seen that conspiracy of money laundering is hatched in secrecy and executed in darkness. The present case before me is a classic case of oppression in the garb of implementation of the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act),” the judgment noted.

On the request of ED advocate Shriram Shirsat, the HC stayed its judgment for one week so that the agency could file an appeal in the Supreme Court.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Panaji:

The Goa bench of Bombay High Court on Thursday upheld assembly speaker Ramesh Tawadkar’s decision to not disqualify the eight Congress MLAs who joined the ruling BJP in the coastal state on September 14, 2022.

On November 1 last year, Mr Tawadkar dismissed the disqualification petition against MLAs Digambar Kamat, Aleixo Sequeira, Sankalp Amonkar, Michael Lobo, Delilah Lobo, Kedar Naik, Rudolf Fernandes and Rajesh Faldesai.

The disqualification petition was filed at the time by former Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Girish Chodankar.

Chodankar moved the High Court on January 6 this year against Mr Tawadkar’s decision.

On Thursday, the division bench of Justices Makarand Karnik and Nivedita Mehta dismissed the petition filed by Mr Chodankar and upheld the speaker’s order.

The strength of the BJP had gone up to 28 in the 40-member assembly after these eight Congress MLAs switched sides.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

The Bombay High Court on Thursday wondered if there would be a solution for air pollution in the city or if citizens have to continue seeing haze each year after Diwali.

It also suggested that bakeries should be prohibited from using wood and charcoal and batted for CNG and electric cars.

A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Girish Kulkarni said while all authorities are broadly aware of the problems and the reasons behind Mumbai’s depleting Air Quality Index (AQI), the solution and measures to be taken need to be arrived at immediately.

The bench had in 2023 taken suo moto (on its own) cognisance of the poor air quality in the city and state.

On Thursday, the court noted that each year the situation is the same after Diwali.

“What is the solution in such situations? All this starts every year after Diwali. Broadly we know the problems and the causes… so now what is the solution? Or do we continue to see this haze every year all over Mumbai? There is such low visibility on some days,” the bench said.

The court noted that in 2023 it had permitted the bursting of firecrackers only for a few hours daily during the Diwali festival but its directive was not implemented at all.

“We saw firecrackers being burst even up to 1 am in the morning despite our orders. The implementing agencies did not follow our orders at all,” it said.

The court said it was sorry to note that no proactive measures have been taken by the authorities.

“Only when the court passes orders, something is done. Everyone is affected. You (authorities) clearly need to take more drastic measures. When will the pollution levels come down? Unless something drastic is done the situation won’t come under control,” the court said.

The bench pointed out to the pollution caused due to increasing number of vehicles on the road and also bakeries across the city using wood and coal to make their products.

The court said bakeries should be now prohibited from using wood or coal and switch to gas.

It added that people should be encouraged to use CNG or electric cars instead of the ones running on petrol or diesel.

The court also noted that a significant portion of pollution is caused by construction in the city and was not appreciative of the stand taken by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) that a choice has to be made between development and clean air.

Senior counsel Milind Sathe, appearing for the BMC, said there was nothing shocking or horrifying in the civic body’s stance.

“We cannot stop development but we are taking mitigating action,” Sathe said.

The court then said the action has not abated the situation and more measures need to be taken.

The HC said it would pass a detailed order directing the government and other authorities to take certain measures to address the issue.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)