Crime
Gag on POSH cases: After 6 months, Bombay HC says it’s ‘case specific’

Nearly six months after a complete ‘gag’ order to media reporting and uploading of judgements on cases pertaining to the Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (POSH) Act, 2013, the Bombay High Court has clarified that it was ‘case specific’ and not applicable to all matters under the (POSH) act.
Justice G.S. Patel, who had passed the earlier order of September 24, 2021, acknowledged that “it remained to be specifically noted in that order that “the directions had to be confined” to that particular case and could not have any wider or larger applicability.
Justice Patil further noted that any such rules of general applicability would have to be approved by the full court, and a single judge hearing a particular matter within his rostered assignment has “no authority or jurisdiction to issue any rules binding the entire court”.
“It is only the full court or the Chief Justice which or who can do that. Very possibly, such rules might even have been required to be notified in the official gazette. None of this was in contemplation at any time on September 24, 2021,” Justice Patil added.
The clarifications came on Thursday while disposing an intervention application filed by the Forum Against Oppression of Women under the impressions that the guidelines were general in nature.
FAOW senior advocate Indira Jaisingh contended that these guidelines were not only against the letter and spirit of the POSH Act, but also contrary to the very concept of open courts, which are an essential aspect of judicial determinations globally, and now it was being cited by men in other cases.
In the previous order (IANS – Sept 27, 2021), Justice Patel had said all such matters shall be heard either “in camera” or in the judge’s chambers, orders cannot be passed in open court, or uploaded on the high court’s official website, and the media has been prohibited from reporting the proceedings or the verdicts without the court’s permission.
Virtually making POSH cases at par with the existing guidelines in rape cases, the order warned that violation of the same or publishing the concerned party’s names or other details, even if in the public domain, would be treated as contempt of court.
He observed that since there are no set guidelines for such matters, his initial order would set a working protocol for the future orders, hearings, case file management, and would be revised or modified, as needed.
The ‘minimum guidelines’ issued dealt with the format of filing orders in POSH cases, the filing protocols, grant of access by the registry, hearings, directions to the certified copy department, public access, breach, etc.
“Both sides and all parties and advocates, as also witnesses, are forbidden from disclosing the contents of any order, judgment, or filing to the media or publishing any such material in any mode or fashion by any means, including social media, without specific leave of the court,” the court said on the media disclosure part.
Justice Patel added that it was imperative to protect the identities of the parties from disclosure, even accidental disclosure in such proceedings, in the interests of both sides, and the endeavour would be to “anonymise the identities of the parties”.
The orders came in a hearing of a POSH case involving a major blue-chip company and its woman staffer — who was represented by advocate Abha Singh.
The other highlights were: Parties’ names shall be replaced with “A v B”, etc., the order will mention them as only ‘Plaintiff, Defendant No. 1, etc.’, no reference to any ‘personally identifiable information (PII) like email, mobile or phone numbers, addresses, etc,’ and ‘no witness names and addresses’ shall be mentioned.
All orders/judgements would be delivered in private, not in open court but only in the judge’s chambers or in camera, with online or hybrid facility not allowed, in the presence of the litigants and lawyers and others including most of the court staff to leave the court.
“Orders can’t be published without court’s direction, and if any order is to be released into public domain, it will require a specific order of the court. This will be on the condition that only the fully anonymised version of the order of judgement is let into the public domain for publication,” said Justice Patel in the earlier order.
It forbade both sides, all parties and advocates and witnesses from disclosing the contents of any order, judgment, or filing to the media or publishing any such material in any mode or fashion by any means, including social media, without specific leave of the court, as per the guidelines.
There are strict restrictions barring anyone other than the Advocate-on-Record to inspect or copy any filings/orders, the entire record will be kept sealed and not handed over to anybody without the court’s order, witness depositions would be strictly not uploaded under any circumstances, and so on.
Crime
Kunal Kamra row: 3 more FIRs filed over Shinde jibe, merged with Mumbai case

Mumbai, March 29: In fresh trouble for controversial comedian Kunal Kamra, three additional FIRs filed against him in different cities have been merged with the one registered in Mumbai’s Khar police station over his alleged jibe at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The stand-up comedian courted controversy for cracking an allegedly objectionable joke during a show last month, using the term ‘gaddar’ (traitor) to make a veiled reference to Shinde.
The three zero FIRs that have been merged with the main case registered in Khar were filed in Thane, Nashik and Buldhana by Shiv Sena workers.
The three FIRs were filed by Sunil Jadhav from Nandgaon Manmad, Nashik; Sanjay Bhujbal from Jalgaon Jamod, Buldhana and Mayur Borse from Manmad, Nashik.
The complainants in the three FIRs said that the comedian allegedly created hatred between political parties by making ‘objectionable’ remarks against Shinde. They also alleged that Kamra’s remarks defamed Shinde’s ‘conduct’.
The three FIRs were registered under penal provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita dealing with defamation and public mischief.
Kamra, who has been granted protection against arrest till April 7 by the Madras High Court, has been summoned by Khar police for recording his statement on Monday – this will be the third police attempt to call him as he has not responded to two earlier requests.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 9 (Mumbai), Dixit Gedam said two offences have been registered at Khar police station.
One is against Kamra for derogatory comments, while the other is against people who vandalised the Unicontinental hotel in Khar where the shoot of his stand-up comedy act titled ‘Naya Bharat’ took place.
Kamra landed in trouble after giving a comic spin-off to a popular Hindi song in which he indirectly described Shinde as a ‘traitor’, referring to the 2022 Maharashtra political crisis which eventually led to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led state government.
The controversy snowballed after Kamra uploaded a clip from the show on social media last Saturday. Angry Shiv Saniks vandalised the hotel, resulting in the arrest and the subsequent granting of bail to 12 Shinde supporters.
Crime
Accused in Saif Ali Khan stabbing case files bail plea, claims innocence

Mumbai, March 29: Mohammad Shariful Islam Shahzad, the accused in the stabbing of Bollywood superstar Saif Ali Khan, has filed a bail petition in the Mumbai Sessions Court, asserting that he is innocent and the case against him is fabricated.
The attack took place in the early hours of January 16 when the accused allegedly entered Saif’s Bandra residence through his youngest son Jeh’s room.
The actor, who was reportedly trying to fend off the assailant, suffered multiple stab wounds. Despite his injuries, Saif managed to go to the hospital on his own, accompanied by his son Taimur.
Shariful Islam Shahzad’s petition, filed through his lawyer, claims that the FIR was wrongly registered and that he has fully cooperated with the police investigation.
His legal team argues that since all evidence is already in police custody, there is no risk of tampering, and therefore, he should be granted bail.
Currently, the case is being handled by the Bandra Magistrate Court, but it falls under the jurisdiction of the Mumbai Sessions Court. Once the police file a charge sheet, the case will be transferred to the Sessions Court. However, the charge sheet is yet to be filed.
According to media reports, doctors removed a 2.5-inch knife from Saif’s wound. The actor sustained six stab injuries, two of which were serious as they were near his spine.
The incident reportedly occurred around 2:15 am on January 16 when the accused broke into the house, attacked the house help, and then stabbed Saif when he intervened.
Saif was alerted by noises from Jeh’s room, where he found the accused in an altercation with the house help. Attempting to protect the staff, Saif fought off the intruder with his bare hands before being stabbed multiple times.
Investigations have revealed that the accused, a Bangladeshi national, intended to rob a wealthy individual to finance his mother’s medical treatment in his home country. He has a history of petty theft and was previously dismissed from restaurants in Worli and Thane for stealing.
It is also reported that the attacker was unaware of Saif Ali Khan’s celebrity status and targeted the residence purely because it was located in an upscale apartment complex.
Crime
Baba Siddique Murder Case: Late NCP Leader’s Wife, Shehzeen Siddique, Seeks To Join Prosecution And Pleads For Justice In Special MCOCA Court

Mumbai: Late NCP leader Baba Siddique’s wife Shehzeen has approached the special MCOCA court, pleading that she be allowed to join the prosecution to conduct the case of her husband’s murder, as her family is the ultimate victim of the act of the accused.
As the court is yet to begin the trial, Baba’s wife Shehzeen has, on Friday, submitted an application through her advocate Trivankumar Karnani, seeking permission to allow her to join the prosecution to conduct the trial in the case. She pleaded that the accused have committed a cold-blooded, gruesome murder in a pre-planned and premeditated manner of the deceased.
“She has suffered an irreparable loss, and that it is of utmost importance for the intervenor to put on record the true and correct facts to assist this Court to come to a free and fair conclusion in the matter at hand,” Shehzeen said in her application, adding that there are several important aspects which require due and proper weightage.
The application emphasis on the right of the victim to be heard as held by Supreme court in numerous pleas. “It has been held that the victim is the defacto sufferer of a crime. The ethos of criminal justice dispensation to prevent and punish crime should not surreptitiously turn its back on the victim. The jurisprudence with respect to the rights of victims to be heard and to participate in criminal proceedings began to positively evolve,” reads the plea.
Siddique, 66, was killed on October 12, 2014, near his son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Bandra. Three assailants allegedly part of Bishnoi’s gang had opened fire at the car where Baba sat to leave from the office. As soon as he got into the car, the accused opened fire at him, giving no room for his guards to react. The assailants however were caught by police while they tried to escape.
Shehzeen further pleaded that, “This audacious attack, executed in one of the city’s most affluent and bustling neighborhoods, saw the assailants shoot Siddique at point blank range, before fleeing the scene, leaving behind a trail of grief and outrage for the family of the deceased,’ reads the plea.
So far, police have arrested 26 suspects in connection with the murder. The Mumbai police had, in December, submitted a chargesheet against 26 accused involved in the murder of NCP leader. The police claimed that the murder was ordered by Bishnoi, who is heading the gang.
In its chargesheet, the police claimed that the investigation revealed that the members of the gang had hatred against the Bollywood actor Salman Khan. Besides, Siddique was very close to the actor, and further, the gang wanted to establish terror and supremacy. These were the key motives behind conspiring to kill Siddique.
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