City round-up: Maharashtra CM accepts Advocate General's resignation

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has, in principle, accepted the resignation of Advocate General Ravi Kadam, but requested him to continue until alternative arrangements are made.

“I would like to place on record my appreciation for your excellent performance as Advocate -General, Maharashtra. I request you to continue to handle your current responsibilities till alternative arrangements are made,” read the letter sent by CM on Wednesday.

Kadam told DNA that it has been a cordial departure and hence he would represent the rnment when required.

The government may take approximately two weeks to make alternative arrangement considering the elections.

Man held for providing fake ration card
A 37-year-old man was arrested by the Amboli police station on Wednesday for allegedly presenting a fake ration card to get himslef and his family an election-voting card. The case was registered after the returning officer of the election department lodged complaint.

According to police, the arrested accused has been identified as Mohamed Atik-ur-Rehman, resident of of Patliputra Society in Oshiwara, Andheri (West).

"Rehman had allegedly submitted fake ration card to the body for voting cards of his family. But during evaluation, the returning officer of the election board found that the address which was mentioned on the ration card was fake," said a police officer of the Amboli police station. He added that when the returning officer visited the mentioned address, he found it was fake. "They then lodged compliant with us".

"We investigated the case and found that the allegation was true so we arrested Rehman," said investigating officer S patil of the Amboli police station.

Dadar railway police trace stolen mobile phone
The cell phone which was stolen by the robber from a woman passenger after assaulting her in the unreserved ladies compartment of Mumbai bound Devgiri Express on January 12, has been activated and is being used by an unidentified woman.

"The adress provided by the mobile service provider, located in Nityanand Nagar slum colony, LBS Road, Ghatkopar (West), turned out to be fake," said Nitin Bobade of Dadar railway police station.

The railway police again wrote letter to the mobile service provider to get a copy of the application and other details of the mobile user, to trace the woman and question her how she was using the stolen mobile.

Bobade said that after stealing the cash and mobile from the victim Manjusha Makha, the robber may have given it either his relative or next kin or sold it to some woman who is now using the stolen mobile phone.

Forty-year-old Manjusha Makha was assaulted and robbed cash, mobile and gold chain collectively valued Rs65,000 by an unidentified robber between Dadar and CST railway stations in the unreserved ladies compartment of Mumbai bound Devgiri Express on January 12. Makha lodged a complaint of robbery at the Dadar railway police station.

Every man counts for Babasaheb Ambedkar's grandson
Nobody has the exact list of agitators who participated in the legendary struggle of Chavdar Lake in Mahad, under the leadership of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, or for that matter almost all the historic agitations which have taken place.

In an effort to correct the past, Anandraj Ambedkar, Ambedkar’s grandson, who had undertaken the Indu mill land agitation on December 6, has decided to issue certificates to each person who participated in the Indu mill land struggle that went on for 23 days.

On December 6, more than 500 agitators barged in to the Indu mills compound and held the mills land captured for the next 23 days. "Thousands of people helped us in the movement. There were about 500 of those who barged inside the mill compound and others who stayed with us till the end. This is a historic struggle and we need to preserve the list of all those who participated," said Ramesh Jadhav, Mumbai city chief of Republican Sena.

" Many claim, till today, that they had participated in agitations along with Ambedkar. We cannot verify the truth and this effort of issuing certificates to all is to maintain a record of every agitator," said Ambedkar, president Republican Sena, mentioning that the Indu mill struggle is one of the most successful and revolutionary struggle undertaken by the people of every caste and religion.

This certificate is a way to salute the courage shown by every person and their dedication to the cause. "In future, when the land will actually have a memorial, the people who fought for this, should not be forgotten. Ours is the effort to preserve the history,” said Ambedkar.

Bombay HC allows Bharat Shah's company to sue court receiver

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday allowed the company owned by diamond merchant and film producer, Bharat Shah, to sue two court receivers appointed by the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) to handle the rights of his infamous film Chori Chori Chupkke Chupkke. Shah was found guilty of having underworld links by the MCOCA court along with the film produce Nazim Rizvi few ago. 

Division bench of Justice VM Kanade and Justice ML Tahaliyani allowed the plea filed by Shah’s company Mega Bollywood Private Limited. According to the petition filed by the company it had entered into an agreement with M/s Emmar International to finance the infamous film.

The agreement, dated October 21, 1999, stated that Shah’s company would get 50% of the profit above the finance amount of Rs12 crore allowed to M/s Emmar International. However, in December 2000, Rizvi and Shah were arrested. The special MCOCA court had ordered to seize the negatives and prints of the film made by Rizvi.

On February 12, 2001, the company moved an application for return of the film prints for the film's release. The MCOCA court had then appointed the court receiver for the purpose of distribution and release of the film.

Later on the MCOCA court convicted Rizvi and Shah and ordered that court receiver could be discharged after he had submitted an audit report of the expenses incurred and profits earned to the district magistrate and the Collector of Mumbai.

Rizvi then filed a plea before the MCOCA court wanting to be appointed as the court receiver which came to be rejected. However, the court appointed retired Assistant Commissioner of Police Shankar Kamble (who was the investigating officer of the MCOCA case) as the court receiver.

The company moved the high court and later the Supreme Court challenging the order of appointing the receivers which came to be rejected. The high court in their order had stated that the company will have to prove that the agreement entered by it on October 21, 1999 is genuine and for that it will have to move the Civil court till then the rights of the film will continue to remain with the court receiver and the proceeds if any earned should be deposited in the state treasury.

Accordingly the court receivers entered into three different agreements with third parties for the sale of satellite rights. The third party agreements were entered into by contracts dated August 1, 2007, October 3, 2007, and October 23, 2010.

This creating of third party rights by the court receivers was challenged in the MCOCA court. Special Judge Y D Shinde by his order dated October 13, 2011 rejected that. After which Shah’s company challenged it in the high court for setting aside the MCOCA court order and seeking to stay the third party rights created and also to sue the court receivers for illegally creating the rights.

Thane blasts: HC admits appeal against members of Sanathan Sanstha  
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday admitted the appeal filed by the state government against the acquittal of four members of Hindu right wing group Sanathan Sanstha and sought for the enhancement of two other convicted accused. The six have been accused for their involvement in a low-intensity blast in theatres in Thane and Panvel four years ago, in which eight people were injured.

Division bench of Justice VM Kanade and Justice ML Tahaliyani, allowed appeal to be filed by the state government and admitted the same. Additional Public Prosecutor Pradeep Hingorani said, "the offence committed by the accused is serious in nature. The blast committed by the accused is nothing but an attack on the sovereignty of the nation. The trial court had failed to appreciate the evidence adduced by us with regards to conspiracy."

Hingorani added that "A total of 105 witnesses were examined during the trial and crucial evidence against the accused which clearly shows the accused's involvement in the case has not been correctly appreciated by the trial court."

According to the prosecution case, accused Ramesh Hanumant Gadkari and Vikram Vinay Bhave were found guilty under IPC sections 324, 201 and 427.

The duo was also held guilty under sections 3 and 4 of Explosives Substances Act. However, the court acquitted them of more serious charges of 307 IPC, 120(B)and various provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The two convicted accused were sentenced to ten years imprisonment.

While the four other accused Mangesh Nikam, Santosh Angre, Haribhau Divekar and Hemant Chalke were acquitted for lack of evidence and prosecution's failure to prove the charges.

According to prosecution, the blast was carried out by the accused as they felt that Hindi movie "Jodha Akbhar" and Marathi play "Ahmi PachPute" lampooned Hindu gods and epic Mahabharat.

The charge sheet alleged that the motorcycle, which blew off outside the auditorium, was registered in the name of another rightwing group Gurukripa Prathistan, linked to Sanatan Sanstha. Investigation revealed that Ramesh Hanumant Gadkari had used the two-wheeler.

After Gadkari's arrest, other accused came to be arrested. The State Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) had claimed that timer was used in the blast. Accused Gadkari and his accomplices had been planning to trigger an explosion in early 2008 for which they had purchased Gelatin sticks and electronic detonators.

The charge sheet also said that Gadkari and other accused Bhave had gone to Bihar to by country-made revolvers and cartridges and did firing practice and test blasts in forests. The ATS said that the accused hatched the conspiracy at Panvel and Warsi in nearby Pen district. Gadkari, Nikam and Bhave were accused of making bombs.