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Maharashtra

Quash Governor’s decision to invite Shinde to be Maharashtra CM: Shiv Sena plea in SC

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The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on July 11 a fresh plea by General Secretary of Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray faction, challenging the governor’s action of inviting Eknath Shinde to be the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

Senior advocate Devadatt Kamat, representing Shiv Sena leader Subhash Desai, mentioned the matter before a bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and J.K. Maheshwari and said that they seek listing of the fresh plea along with other pending petitions which are scheduled for hearing on July 11.

“We are challenging the appointment of Eknath Shinde as chief minister,” Kamat said.

The top court said it will be listed before an appropriate bench on July 11.

The plea said: “It is submitted that the action of the Governor dated June 30, 2022 in calling Respondent No. 4 to be the Chief Minister is completely arbitrary and unconstitutional.The president of Shiv Sena is Uddhav Thackeray. The last organisational elections were held in 2018 and the same was intimated to the Election Commission of India. There is no change to the organisational structure of the Shiv Sena and the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray is undisputed and unchallenged.”

A rebellion by Shinde-led Shiv Sena MLAs resulted in the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

The plea submitted that the Governor cannot recognise rebel MLAs as a political party as that would ring a death knell on the working of a multi-party democracy.

The plea said there is no merger as envisaged under para 4 of the Tenth Schedule and the President of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) had publicly and admittedly not aligned/supported the BJP. “These rebel MLAs have not merged in any other political party or formed a new political party, therefore even if it is assumed they formed 2/3rd strength of the Legislature party, para 4 of the Tenth Schedule is not at all attracted,” it added.

The plea contended in these circumstances, the satisfaction of the Governor for the purpose of calling upon Shinde to be the Chief Minister as the head of 39 rebel MLAs of Shiv Sena (which is not endorsed by the Shiv Sena) is by itself ex facie unconstitutional.

“The Constitution prohibits recognition of rebel MLAs of a political party under Tenth Schedule, and the action of the Governor legitimises what is expressly prohibited by the Constitution. The Governor has sought to recognise what the Constitution prohibits,” said the plea.

In these circumstances, the Governor in his ipsi dixit guided by his political masters acted malafide and in the teeth of the provisions of the Constitution granted de-facto recognition to the 39 rebel MLAs by inviting Respondent No. 4 to be the Chief Minister.”

The plea sought a direction from the top court to quash the decision of the Governor to invite Shinde to take oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and form the government.

“Pass an appropriate writ/order/direction quashing the illegal proceedings of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly held on 03.07.2022, and consequently the election of the Speaker; and/or c. pass an appropriate writ/order/direction quashing the illegal proceedings of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly held on 04.07.2022, and consequently the Confidence Motion in favour of Respondent No. 4 (Shinde),” it added.

Maharashtra

Kasturba Marg Police recover 100 stolen mobile phones, return them to their original owners

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Acting on complaints regarding stolen and lost mobile phones within the jurisdiction of the Kasturba Marg Police Station in Mumbai, police analyzed data from the CEIR portal and conducted technical investigations. By verifying device details, IMEI numbers, and user information, officers from the Kasturba Marg Police Station tracked down and recovered a total of 100 mobile phones from locations across Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra.

The total estimated value of the 100 recovered mobile phones is ₹2,270,658. Of these, 18 phones have already been returned to their respective owners/complainants, including: 1) Rajendra Puri, 2) Khush Saw, 3) Kripa Lodhiya, 4) Shreya Satam, 5) Atul Sathe, 6) Priyanka Mistri, 7) Banu Tarang, 8) Prem Gupta, 9) Adya Shaikh, 10) Shweta Shah, 11) Sandhya Pandit, 12) Deepak Sawdekar, 13) Saurabh Jhangar, 14) Ketan Shete, 15) Onkar Raut, 16) Jayalal Yadav, 17) Lakshmi Appa Kripagiri, and 18) Praveen Dubey. The process of returning the remaining phones to their owners is currently underway.

This operation was carried out under the supervision of the DCP (North, Zone 3), Mumbai, by the team at Kasturba Marg Police Station, led by Balasaheb Bunkar.

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Crime

CBI books Mumbai firm, officials in Rs 93.44 crore loan fraud case

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Mumbai, Oct 3: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches at multiple premises in Mumbai and registered a Rs 93.44 crore bank fraud case against officials of Hanjer Biotech Energies on the complaint of Punjab National Bank, an official said on Saturday.

The CBI conducted searches on Friday at multiple premises linked to the directors of Hanjer Biotech Energies in Mumbai, the CBI said in a statement.

The CBI registered the instant case on September 30, 2026, on the complaint of Punjab National Bank, SAM Branch, Mumbai, against Hanjer Biotech Energies, its directors and guarantors, unknown public servants and unknown private persons.

The accused were booked for offences of criminal conspiracy for cheating and offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, resulting in alleged wrongful loss of approximately Rs 93.44 Crore to the bank.

It was alleged that the accused entered into a criminal conspiracy, obtained term loan of Rs 135 crore on the invoices of its related party and diverted/siphoned off the funds for other purposes for which it was not sanctioned, causing loss to the bank, the CBI said.

During the searches on Friday, incriminating bank documents and property documents relevant to the investigation were recovered and seized.

Investigation is continuing to ascertain the full extent of the conspiracy, identify the role of all involved persons, including public servants and private individuals, and trace the end-use of the loan funds, the CBI said.

In a separate case on Friday, the CBI arrested an Executive Engineer of the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Mumbai, his relative and three officials of a Mumbai-based real estate group, in a Rs 50 lakh bribery case related to the issuance of a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) for a land parcel.

Vikrant Verma, Executive Engineer, CPWD Mumbai; Saurav Gupta, Verma’s relative based in Pune; and Arvind Semwal, Vice President, Baya Company, were among those named in the FIR by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday, an official said.

The arrested accused were produced before the Special CBI Judge in Mumbai on Friday, the official said in a statement.

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Maharashtra

Monsoon Withdraws Further from Maharashtra; Hot and Humid Weather Alert Issued for Konkan Region

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MUMBAI PRESS — The India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced on Saturday, October 3, 2026, that the Southwest Monsoon has withdrawn from parts of Maharashtra, as well as the remaining regions of North India, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh.

The current withdrawal line of the Southwest Monsoon passes through Harnai, Baramati, Parbhani, and Brahmapuri in Maharashtra, extending northeastward through Raipur, Ranchi, and Supaul. Weather officials stated that conditions are favorable for further retreat from most parts of Marathwada, Vidarbha, and additional areas of Madhya Maharashtra over the next 2 to 3 days.

Hot and Humid Stretch for Coastal Maharashtra
Residents in the coastal belt should prepare for elevated discomfort over the weekend. The IMD has issued a hot and humid weather warning for Konkan & Goa prevailing from October 3 through October 5.
Following this dry and muggy stretch, mild weather activity is expected to return to the region. Isolated to scattered rainfall is forecast across Konkan & Goa and Madhya Maharashtra between October 6 and October 9.

Southern and Northeastern Forecast
While monsoon forces retreat from central and northern parts of India, southern states are bracing for heavy downpours. Isolated heavy rainfall is predicted over Kerala, Mahe, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal from October 4 to October 6, with South Interior Karnataka expected to receive heavy spells on October 5 and 6.

In the northeast, isolated heavy rainfall is expected to continue over Assam, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh through October 3.

Advisory for Fishermen
Due to lower-tropospheric cyclonic circulations over the Arabian Sea, the IMD has urged fishermen not to venture into the sea along and off the Kerala coast, Lakshadweep, Maldives, and the Comorin area on October 3. Farmers in heavy rainfall zones have also been advised to ensure proper field drainage and move harvested crops to covered storage to prevent crop damage.

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