HC grants interim protection to AAP leader in SC/ST Act case

Division bench of Justices SB

Shukre and Miling Sathaye also stayed investigation into the case for four weeks

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted interim protection from any coercive action to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Executive member and its Mumbai unit president Preeti Sharma Menon and another party worker in connection with a case filed against them under the stringent SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

A division bench of Justices SB Shukre and Miling Sathaye also stayed investigation into the case for four weeks.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by Menon and her party colleague Manu Pillai seeking to quash the FIR (first information report) registered against them.

The FIR was lodged on March 16, 2023, at the

Malegaon case: 31st witness turns ‘hostile’

First India Bureau

Mumbai: A witness who is related to an absconding accused on Wednesday became the 31st prosecution witness to turn hostile in the 2008 Malegaon blast trial, in which BJP MP from Bhopal, Pragya Singh Thakur, is one of the key accused. The witness, in his statement to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), had allegedly said that this absconding accused had met Pragya Thakur on multiple occasions.

Crucially, he had allegedly also told the investigative agency that he had seen the abscond- ing accused riding a motorcycle which purportedly belonged to Thakur. The probe agency had claimed that this motorbike was found at the blast site.

However, during his deposition on Wednesday, the witness told the court that these statements were not true. Following which, the court declared him as hostile.

Earlier, during a deposition two days ago, a retired IPS officer denied that he had accorded sanction to prosecute the accused in the case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to bolster the theory of “saffron terrorism” being behind such attacks.

Andheri police station in suburban Mumbai on a complaint of AAP member Sanjay Kamble.

According to the complainant, who joined the AAP last year, on February 24 when the party's national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was in Mumbai along with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann, he (Kamble) raised an is-

Asking

Mumbai (PTI): A magistrate's court here on Wednesday imposed a cost of Rs 1,000 on Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut for seeking adjournment in a defamation complaint filed against him by Medha Somaiya, wife of BJP leader Kirit Somaiya.

The matter was listed for cross-examination of Medha Somaiya by Raut's lawyer.

But the lawyer sought adjournment for the day, stating that the defence was not ready for cross-examination.

Metropolitan Magistrate (Sewree court) PI Mokashi allowed adjournment, but imposed a cost of Rs1,000 on the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader. The next hearing will be on April 10.

Somaiya moved the court claiming that Raut made baseless allegations that she and her husband were involved in a Rs100 Cr scam related to the construction and maintenance of public toilets in Mira Bhayander area.