Latest news with #Yavatmal
India Today
2 days ago
- Business
- India Today
Ex-cooperative bank CEO Sujata Mahajan's arrest in fraud case illegal, court rules
The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to Sujata Vilas Mahajan, former Chief Executive Officer of Babaji Date Mahila Sahakari Bank Limited, Yavatmal, in connection with a multi-crore financial fraud case. The court held her arrest to be illegal, citing procedural lapses during her Urmila Joshi-Phalke, who presided over the matter, emphasised the importance of constitutional rights, saying, "The guarantee of 'life and liberty' as enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India available to citizens of this country cannot be denied even to an accused who is in custody and surely not to a suspect who is sought to be converted to an accused on an investigation and then from an accused to a convict on trial."advertisementShe further added, "It is an obligation upon the state as well as on the court to ensure that there is no infringement of the indefeasible right of a citizen to life and liberty, which he cannot be deprived of without following the procedure established by law." Mahajan was taken into custody on September 30, 2024, in connection with a major financial fraud case. An audit revealed irregularities in loan disbursements, with loans worth Rs 1.88 crore allegedly obtained by Mahajan's husband and relatives without proper approval from the bank's Board of Directors. The total scam is reportedly valued at over Rs 242 court acknowledged that Mahajan's involvement in the financial offence was revealed during the investigation. However, it noted that her arrest took place after sunset and without informing her relatives, both of which are violations of legal procedure. As a result, the court deemed the arrest for Mahajan, Senior Counsel SV Manohar argued that the chargesheet lacked direct evidence of her involvement in the fraud. He also highlighted that the outstanding loans linked to her husband had already been repaid. Stressing on the procedural flaws, he said Mahajan's arrest after sunset and the failure to inform her relatives violated her fundamental the bail, Public Prosecutor DV Chauhan contended that the investigation revealed Mahajan's role in sanctioning and disbursing loans without proper authorisation. He described the case as a serious economic offence, affecting nearly 37,000 court pointed out discrepancies in the records related to Mahajan's arrest and the lack of communication with her family. It concluded that these procedural violations rendered the arrest bail, the High Court directed Mahajan to cooperate with the ongoing investigation, attend all court hearings, and surrender her passport.- Ends
Time of India
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Three from Vidarbha score perfect percentile in MHT CET (PCM group)
Nagpur: Three students from Vidarbha scored a perfect 100 percentile in the MHT-CET (PCM group), the results of which were declared on Monday. Apart from these three, 19 other students from the rest of Maharashtra (and other states) scored 100 percentile, as per the official statement by the State CET (Common Entrance Test) Cell. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Results for the MHT-CET (PCB group) are scheduled to be declared on Tuesday. Mohd. Alraza Hanif Shaikh (Gondia), Shirish Nilesh Pattewar (Yavatmal), and Chinmay Vikas Chavhan (Bhandara) are the students from Vidarbha who hit the bull's eye in the MHT-CET (PCM). Since city-wise topper names are not released officially, only information coming from coaching institutes and junior colleges is relied on. For Nagpur city, the probable toppers are Amogh Gotmare (99.82 percentile), Puneet Dhandale (99.55 percentile), and Shreyan Chaware (99.53 percentile), all students of Dr Ambedkar College. The MHT-CET 2025 (PCM Group) was conducted from April 19 to April 27. The examination was conducted at 207 centres within Maharashtra and 17 outside the state. An additional exam was also conducted on May 5 following major problems with the online exam on a specific date. Students complained that almost 20 questions displayed on the screen did not have correct options. There was a huge ruckus post the exam, and the govt was forced to take cognisance. Since the govt's findings confirmed the error, a re-exam was held only for students who appeared on that particular date. The questions were based on the syllabus of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Maharashtra. Approximately 20% weightage was given to the Class 11 curriculum, and 80% weightage was given to the Class 12 curriculum while setting the question paper. There was no negative marking; however, the difficulty level was on par with the JEE (Main) for Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry, and the difficulty level for Biology was on par with NEET.
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Time of India
45 cattleheads ‘drown' in lake in Yavatmal's Mahagaon tehsil
1 2 3 Yavatmal: The local farming community was shocked after news broke out about 45 heads of cattle being drowned in the Veni lake in Mahagaon tehsil leading to heavy financial losses for the villagers in Dharkanha. The incident came to light around 8am on Wednesday. According to initial reports, a herdsman from Dharkanha village had taken around 60 heads of cattle, including cows and bullocks, into the nearby forest area for grazing on Tuesday evening. The herdsman returned to the village in the night claiming that the cattle herd had wandered off out of his sight, said sources. There was no trace of the animals even late into the night, causing concern among the villagers. Many of the villagers depend on livestock for their primary source of livelihood, said sources. On Wednesday morning, a group of locals set out in search of the missing animals. Upon reaching the Veni Lake, they were met with a heartbreaking sight — the lifeless bodies of the cattle heads floating in the water. A large number of villagers rushed to the spot on getting information. Authorities were immediately informed, and a team from the tehsil office arrived at the scene. A panchnama (official inspection and report) is currently under way to assess the extent of the damage and determine the cause of the incident. Speaking to TOI, tehsildar Abhay Mhaske ruled out poisoning or lightning as the cause behind the deaths. "The post-mortem would reveal the exact reason," said Mhaske. Preliminary estimates suggest that the economic loss could be in the range of Rs20 lakh to Rs25 lakh. Locals speculate that the animals may have entered the lake to drink water or cool off and became fatigued while swimming, leading to their death.
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
HC: Notary Attested Affidavits Valid for Govt Tenders Unless Magistrate Clause Explicit
Nagpur: In a significant ruling set to streamline govt bidding procedures, the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court has ruled that affidavits attested by a notary public are sufficient for participation in public tenders, unless an explicit requirement for magistrate attestation is stated in the bid document or related policy. A division bench of justices Nitin Sambre and Vrushali Joshi quashed the disqualification of a Yavatmal contractor, who was barred from a Rs55 lakh tender issued by the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) for submitting an affidavit attested by a notary instead of a magistrate. "The petitioner executed the affidavit in compliance with statutory provisions," the bench noted, adding that VIDC's rejection of the bid amounted to a 'complete non-application of mind'. The petitioner, represented by counsel Tejas Deshpande, had bid for furnishing and repair work under the Wardha Barrage (Hadgaon) Lift Irrigation Scheme. He submitted an affidavit on Rs100 stamp paper, duly notarised in Form 6 format. However, on April 15, 2025, VIDC rejected his bid citing Clause 13(vi)(7) of the tender, which officials claimed mandated attestation by an executive or district magistrate. Deshpande argued that the said clause made no such specification and that a govt resolution issued on October 18, 2023, also did not insist on a magistrate's attestation. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo The court concurred, affirming that the Notaries Act, 1952, empowers notaries to administer oaths and validate affidavits, making notarised documents legally enforceable. The bench observed that VIDC effectively imposed a requirement that did not exist in either the tender conditions or state policy, thereby arbitrarily excluding a valid bid. It directed the agency to open and consider the petitioner's financial proposal. "Our observations lead to drawing the only conclusion that the petitioner complied with the tender condition and by no stretch of imagination leads to any other inference that the affidavit sworn before the notary cannot be equated with that of the affidavit sworn before the executive/district magistrate. The latter are appointed under the criminal law and it is not that any special powers are conferred on them while giving the oath or affirmation to that effect," the judges said. The ruling is expected to curb discretionary disqualifications by state agencies and clarifies that notarised affidavits, unless explicitly disallowed, meet the legal standard for tender compliance , Deshpande said.
