Mumbai: In a significant relief for a 17-year-old student, the Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary & Higher Secondary Education to accept his offline application for the upcoming Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations, despite the deadline for online submissions having passed.

The petitioner, Aditya Brijesh Agarwal, had approached the court through his father, Brijesh Priyasharan Agarwal, after being unable to submit his application before the December 31, 2024 deadline. He sought to appear as a private candidate under Regulation 89 of the Maharashtra Secondary & Higher Secondary Education Board Regulations, 1977, which permits students who have not cleared Class 11 (FYJC) to directly register for the HSC exams.

Agarwal had cleared his Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exam in 2023 and secured admission at KPB Hinduja College. However, due to medical and personal difficulties, he was unable to pass FYJC. He later sought to register as a private candidate but faced administrative hurdles. He was informed by his college that three private registration seats were likely to be available, but delays and lack of coordination among the authorities prevented him from completing the process in time.

Despite repeated representations, including formal letters and emails, his grievance remained unresolved, leaving him without an admit card for the HSC exams scheduled to begin on February 11, 2025. Arguing before the court, his advocate, Prerak Chaudhary, contended that the arbitrary refusal to process his application violated his fundamental right to education under Article 21 of the Constitution. He also cited violations of natural justice and equality under Article 14.

State Board’s advocate Kiran Gandhi opposed the plea stating that the application process was conducted “online” and the deadline had already passed. However, considering the petitioner’s circumstances, a bench of Justices AS Chandurkar and Milind Sathaye directed the board to accept his “offline” application, subject to eligibility and payment of late fees.

The court also allowed him to submit his application through any recognized college that had not exhausted its sanctioned quota for private candidates. It emphasized that this relief was granted in the “peculiar facts” of the case and would not set a precedent.

The petition also sought the establishment of a transparent grievance redressal mechanism to prevent similar issues in the future. However, the court did not issue any directive on this aspect.

Mumbai: After a crushing defeat in the recent Assembly Elections, there is growing unrest within the Shiv Sena UBT. Amid the ongoing turmoil, reports suggest that six MPs from the Thackeray camp are in contact with the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena and may soon switch sides. The Shinde camp is allegedly executing a strategic political move, dubbed ‘Operation Tiger,’ to facilitate this transition.

What Is Operation Tiger?

For the past few days, Operation Tiger has been a hot topic in Maharashtra’s political circles. Speculation is rife that several leaders from the Thackeray faction and Congress may join the Shinde-led Shiv Sena under this operation. Several news reports citing sources indicate that preparations for the operation are complete and six MPs from the Uddhav faction could officially switch allegiance soon.

If the operation is successful, six out of nine MPs from the Uddhav camp could join the Shinde faction. Reports suggest that efforts are underway to complete this transition before the next session of Parliament. With the BJP backing Shinde, this move could further consolidate their political strength.

Why Are MPs Leaving the Thackeray Camp?

The Mahayuti government, led by Shinde and backed by the BJP, is in a strong position to rule Maharashtra for the next five years. Many MPs fear an uncertain future if they remain with the Thackeray faction. One of the key concerns is access to funds, which may become difficult outside the ruling alliance. Since Mahayuti is in power at both the state and central levels, aligning with Shinde is seen as a politically advantageous move.

Shiv Sena, under Eknath Shinde’s leadership, contested elections and received a strong mandate from the public. Their performance in the assembly elections further solidified their standing. Now, apart from the party name and election symbol, the Uddhav faction has little left to hold onto.

Performance In Assembly Polls

The 2024 Maharashtra Assembly Elections saw a massive turnaround by the Shinde Sena in the political arena. After a weak performance in the Lok Sabha Elections earlier, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena bounced back during the assembly polls winning 57 seats, strengthening their position in the Mahayuti alliance. On the other hand, the Sena UBT managed to bag only 20 seats.

Mumbai: In order to ensure hassle-free, comfortable travel & better services to all bonafide passengers over Western Railway, intensive ticket checking drives are being carried out continuously over Mumbai suburban local services, Mail/Express as well as passenger trains & holiday special trains so as to curb the menace of ticketless/irregular passengers.

The highly motivated ticket checking team under the supervision of senior commercial officers of Western Railway organized several ticket checking drives during the months of April 2024 to January, 2025, thereby recovering an amount to the tune of Rs. 117.54 Crore, which also includes Rs 38.10 Crore from Mumbai Suburban section.

According to Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, Vineet Abhishek, during the month of January, 2025, an amount of Rs 13.08 crore was recovered through detection of 2.24 lakh ticketless/irregular passengers, including unbooked luggage cases.

Also, in the month of January, WR realized fines amounting to Rs 4.13 crore through detection of 98 thousand cases over Mumbai Suburban section. To prevent unauthorized entry in AC local trains, frequent surprise ticket checking drives are carried out.

As a result of these drives almost 52,000 unauthorized passengers have been penalized from April 2024 to January, 2025 and over Rs. 172 lakh collected in fines. Western Railway appeals to the general public to travel with proper and valid tickets.