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SC issues contempt notice to SEBI on RIL plea on non-compliance of court order

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 The Supreme Court has issued a contempt notice to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Reliance Industries (RIL) plea alleging non-compliance of the court’s August 5 order, which directed the market regulator to provide access to certain documents to the company.

A bench comprising Justices M.R. Shah and M.M. Sundresh said: “Issue notice to the respondent, making it returnable on December 2, 2022. Abhishek Singh, counsel accepts service of notice on behalf of the respondent.”

Senior advocate Harish N. Salve, appearing on behalf of RIL, vehemently submitted that despite the August 5 order passed by the apex court by which the respondent (SEBI) was directed to furnish a copy of the documents, the same has not been furnished till date.

Senior advocate and former Attorney General of India K.K. Venugopal, representing SEBI, submitted that the review petition preferred by the respondent is pending before this court and, therefore, no further order be passed in the present proceedings.

The bench, in its order, noted: “We have gone through the subsequent order passed by this court dated October 12, 2022 in review petition. The pendency of an appeal and/or writ petition along with stay cannot be equated with pendency of the review petition.

I”There is a final decision by this court in an appeal. Merely because the stay application is pending in review petition cannot be a ground to grant stay by the respondent on its own and not to comply with the directions issued by this court.”

The bench said it is required to be noted that the State of J&K Vs. Mohd. Yaqoob Khan and others was a case where against the ex-parte order passed by the single judge, pending writ petition, the contempt proceedings were initiated.

“Therefore, this court observed that when the stay application is yet to be heard and decided and disposed of, the contempt proceedings cannot be initiated. Under the circumstances, the said decision(s) cannot be of any assistance to the respondent,” said the apex court.

The bench has scheduled the matter for further hearing on December 2.

The company had sought three documents from SEBI that it had claimed would exonerate it and its promoters from criminal prosecution initiated in a case related to the alleged irregularities in acquisition of its own shares between 1994 and 2000.

On August 5, a bench led by then Chief Justice N.V. Ramana, had said: “The approach of SEBI, in failing to disclose the documents, also raises concerns of transparency and fair trial. Opaqueness only propagates prejudice and partiality. Opaqueness is antithetical to transparency.”

The top court had said the market regulator should show fairness and furnish documents sought by RIL, and SEBI has a duty to act fairly, while conducting proceedings or initiating any action against the parties.

RIL filed a contempt petition as SEBI has not shared three documents — the two legal opinions by former Supreme Court judge B.N. Srikrishna and former ICAI President Y.H. Malegam’s report which examined the irregularities.

The company claimed that SEBI cannot continue to resist the production of these documents and it had also sent a notice to the market regulator saying if documents were not received by August 18, then it will establish that SEBI does not want to comply with the apex court’s judgment.

In 2002, Chartered Accountant S. Gurumurthy filed a complaint with SEBI alleging irregularities by RIL, its associate companies and their directors/promoters, including Mukesh Ambani and his wife, Nita; Anil Ambani and his wife, Tina; and 98 others.

The complaint cited the issue of two preferential placement of non-convertible debentures in 1994.

SEBI had alleged that RIL along with Reliance Petroleum had circuitously funded the acquisition of its own shares in violation of the Sections 77 and 77A of the Companies Act, 1956.

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‘Mantriji Haath Jeb Mein Se Bahar’: LS Speaker Om Birla Chides Minister For Putting Hand In Pocket Inside House

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'Mantriji Haath Jeb Mein Se Bahar': LS Speaker Om Birla Chides Minister For Putting Hand In Pocket Inside House

New Delhi, July 26: The Parliament’s Monsoon Session has seen its share of confrontations between the members of the ruling government and the Opposition. Even Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla has not been immune to getting into an argument or chiding a member for inappropriate behaviour. A similar incident was witnessed in the lower house on Thursday when speaker Birla scolded a member of the ruling government in the house and a minister for putting “hands in pocket”.

A video that has now gone viral shows Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla telling the minister, “Mantriji haath jeb se bahar (Minister, hands out of the pocket please)”. After this, Birla requested all the members not to put their hands in pocket while being inside the house.

He also went on to instruct that if a member is speaking, the member sitting in front should not get up and in fact try to sit somewhere back so that the member speaking is not obstructed.

The video also caught the voice of a person trying to clarify after Birla’s remarks. However, the video did not show which minister was scolded by the Lok Sabha Speaker.

This is the second time in two days when the usually unflappable Lok Sabha speaker was seen trying to correct an MP inside the house. On June 24, the exchange between Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla and TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee had gone viral.

The video shows Om Birla asking TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee to not talk about past events while speaking on the budget and focus only on the current budget in his speech. Abhishek Banerjee retorted saying, “Then why do you have no problem when someone speaks on Nehru ji and talks about 60 years old things.” Banerjee then went on to say that if he speaks on demonetisation (which took place in 2016), then the speaker has problem.

The Union Budget and the first one of Modi 3.0 was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 23. The Opposition criticised the budget calling it an exercise by the government to ensure that it keeps its alliance partners happy and alleged that the budget favoured several states and deliberately left out the other regions.

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Farah Khan’s Mother Menka Irani Passes Away At 79, Days After Undergoing Multiple Surgeries

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Menka Irani, the mother of filmmakers Farah Khan and Sajid Khan, passed away on July 26, Friday. The news was shared by Kamaal R Khan on his social media handle.

Farah’s mother was 79 when she breathed her last.

The heartbreaking news comes days after Farah had revealed in an Instagram post that her mother had undergone multiple surgeries. On her birthday on July 12, Farah had penned a heartfelt note for her mother and had lauded her strength.

“We all take our mothers for granted. especially me! This last month has been a revelation on how much I love my mom Menka.. she’s been the strongest, bravest person iv ever seen.. sense of humour intact even after multiple surgeries,” she wrote.

“Happy birthday mom! Today’s a good day to come back home. Can’t wait for you to get strong enough to start fighting with me again.. I love you,” she wrote.

Friends of Farah and Sajid were seen reaching their residence to extend their support and condolences.

Menka was the sister of former child actors Honey Irani, who later married Javed Akhtar, and Daisy Irani. She is survived by her two children — Farah and Sajid.

Not many know but Menka also acted in the film Bachpan in 1963, which starred Salman Khan’s father Salim Khan.

In an earlier interview, Farah had revealed how their mother brought Sajid and her up after their father lost all money and died due to alcohol addiction. “We’d lost all our money, dad’s film had flopped. We had a riches to rags story,” she had said.

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‘Pakistan Has Not Learned Any Lessons From History’: PM Modi Warns Neighbouring Country On Kargil Vijay Diwas

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'Pakistan Has Not Learned Any Lessons From History': PM Modi Warns Neighbouring Country On Kargil Vijay Diwas

As the country commemorates the 25th anniversary of the victory in the Kargil War, PM Modi on Friday paid tribute to the brave soldiers who lost their lives fighting for the country in the 1999 conflict.

On this occasion, PM Modi also warned the neighboring country, stating that Pakistan has not learned any lessons from history.

Speaking at the Kargil Vijay Diwas Shradhanjali Samaroh in Kargil, PM Modi said, “India was trying to establish peace at that time, in return, Pakistan once again showed its untrustworthy face. However, lies and terror were defeated by the truth. Every time Pakistan attempted something nefarious, it has received a befitting reply in the past. However, Pakistan has not taken any lessons from its own history. It is trying to keep itself relevant taking help of terrorism and proxy war.”

“Today, I am speaking from the very place where the masters of terrorism can hear me clearly! I want to tell these patrons of terrorism that their sinister plans will never succeed,” added PM Modi.

“However, Pakistan has not taken any lessons from its own history. It is trying to keep itself relevant taking help of terrorism and proxy war,”

Paying tribute to the Indian soldiers who died in the war, PM Modi added, “Today, the majestic land of Ladakh marks a significant milestone – 25 years since the triumphant victory of Kargil. Kargil Vijay Diwas reminds us that the sacrifices made for our nation are eternal and forever remembered. As time passes, days turn into months, months into years, and years into centuries – the names of those who laid down their lives for the sake of national security remain etched in our collective memory, forever immortalised!”

Earlier today, PM laid a wreath at the Kargil War Memoria in Drass, Ladakh, on the occasion of the 25th Kargil Vijay Diwas.

Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan and all ranks of the armed forces also joined in remembering the supreme sacrifice made by the soldiers during the Kargil war.

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