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
Mumbai: Drunk Man Attacks Woman Doctor, Vandalises Her Audi Car In Powai; Case Filed

Mumbai: A 31-year-old woman doctor was allegedly attacked by a drunken man who also vandalised her luxury Audi car in Powai in the early hours of Sunday. The victim, employed at Asian Heart Hospital in Bandra Kurla Complex, had just returned home from duty when the incident occurred, leaving her shaken.
The doctor reached Filterpada around 5 am and parked her red Audi car near a tempo stand before walking towards her residence. Suddenly, a man identified as Abdullah Zuber Khan, a local resident of Pathanwadi, confronted her. Allegedly under the influence of alcohol, Khan was armed with a 1.5-foot knife and a three-foot-long iron rod. Without provocation, he reportedly charged at the woman, forcing her to flee to safety.
The doctor managed to escape and rushed home, later returning with her mother and brother. By then, Khan had shifted his aggression towards her vehicle, smashing the Audi parked near Shreenath Medical. He reportedly shattered the rear and side windows of the car. When confronted by the family, Khan allegedly brandished his knife, shouted threats and caused panic among locals before fleeing the scene.
The shaken doctor immediately alerted the police control room. A patrol team, including a male and female constable from Powai police, quickly arrived at the spot. The officers assured the woman of protection, began searching for the accused and directed her to lodge a formal complaint at Powai Police Station.
Based on her statement, the police registered a case against Khan for attempted assault, criminal intimidation, vandalism and creating public disturbance. He has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, and copsare working to trace his whereabouts.
Crime
Mumbai Crime: 3 Arrested For Killing Senior Citizen Over Property Dispute In Kandivali; Sticks, Wooden Stumps & Stones Used During Assault

Mumbai: The Kandivali police arrested three individuals for the murder of a 60-year-old man. The accused have been identified as Avdhesh Chauhan, Sanjay Chauhan, and Kamlesh Chauhan. They forced their way into the residence of the deceased, Ramlakhan Yadav, claiming it belonged to them, and physically assaulted him. During treatment, Yadav succumbed to his injuries at Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivali West.
According to the police, on September 5, the accused forcibly entered Yadav’s residence, claimed ownership of the property, and began verbally abusing and physically assaulting him and his family. They attacked them with sticks, bamboo, stumps, and stones, causing Yadav to sustain serious injuries. His family rushed him to Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivali West, where doctors treated him, after which he was discharged and returned home.
The next day, he complained of chest pain, and his family brought him back to Shatabdi Hospital at around 5.30 pm. While undergoing treatment in the ICU, doctors declared him dead at around 7.45 pm.
The Kandivali police registered a case under Section 109 (1) (attempt to murder) and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and subsequently arrested the accused.
Crime
Vasai-Virar Illegal Construction Scam: ED Gets Custody Of Suspended Ex-VVCMC Deputy Director YS Reddy In Money Laundering Case

Mumbai: The special PMLA court has allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to take the custody of YS Reddy, suspended deputy director of town planning of the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC), in the money laundering case linked to illegal constructions.
Apart from him, ex-VVCMC chief, IAS officer Anil Pawar, and builder duo, Sitaram Gupta and Arun Gupta, have been arrested. They were remanded to judicial custody for 14 days on August 20, however, the ED had reserved its right to obtain their custody for further interrogation.
Reddy was remanded to ED custody till Monday after the agency submitted that he needs to be questioned regarding the huge amount of cash and jewellery found at his residence.
The ED sought Reddy’s after a civic employee allegedly gave a statement that he along with Pawar forced him to collect and deliver bribes to them. The employee revealed that while big architects and builders had access to meet Pawar at his official residence, smaller architects would send their representatives with him to deliver cash to Pawar’s cook or other staff, said the officials.
The employee has also provided a list of 457 commencement certificates (CC) issued for projects in ‘Urban Zone’ and 129 CCs for D-Zone in lieu of bribes, they added.
The agency said that it has also recorded the statement of an architect on September 1, who claimed that Pawar and Reddy sought bribes for granting CCs. The architect said that he has negotiated and facilitated payment of bribes to the duo, as per the statement.
Besides, ED prosecutor Kavita Patil referred to the August 29 statement of a builder, who claimed that he had paid Rs4.28 crore in bribes, which were collected at a rate of Rs30 per sq ft, to the accused. The builder also claimed that he had paid around Rs15 crore to Reddy and Pawar for various approvals granted by them, said Patil.
However, Reddy’s lawyer argued that he has already given explanation to the adjudicating authority regarding the valuables seized from his residence and that seeking custody was the ED’s tactic not to submit its reply, as directed, in this regard by September 10.
Accepting the ED’s contention, the court said, “Considering the statements of witnesses and the list of CCs, the investigation cannot be completed in a proper manner without Reddy’s custody.”
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