The advocates said many students were living in fear after receiving police notices.

MUMBAI: Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis directed home department officials to issue orders for the withdrawal of cases registered against students who participated in recent protests held in support of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).Senior Home Department officials said the necessary order relating to the withdrawal of cases registered during the student protests will be issued at the earliest.Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad said, “The Central government should issue directions to withdraw the cases registered against students across the country and the state immediately withdraw such cases. These cases are adversely affecting students who have applied for visas to pursue higher education abroad or seek employment.”Thousands of students staged protests in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra during the CJP-led agitation, demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resignation over the alleged examination paper leak issue. Police registered multiple FIRs against protesters and later issued notices asking several students to record their statements.Opposition parties urged the govt to issue a formal order withdrawing the cases, arguing that the pending FIRs caused legal uncertainty for students and could affect their higher education and career prospects.Although the govt announced its decision to withdraw the cases, no official communication was issued so far.A group of advocates assisting students facing FIRs appealed to the govt to withdraw the cases immediately, warning that it would put students’ futures at risk, particularly those planning to pursue higher studies abroad or appear for competitive examinations.The advocates said many students were living in fear after receiving police notices.According to the advocates, several students who were not named as accused in the FIRs also received notices, as the police were trying to ascertain whether they were present at the protest site and whether they should be added to the cases.The Congress said there should never have been FIRs against students for participating in a democratic protest, arguing that police generally dealt with political agitations without resorting to criminal cases.Advocate Kalyani Mangave, along with a group of practising advocates, provided legal assistance to students during the protests, and said the group received more than 1,000 calls from students seeking legal help.“There were two major issues,” Mangave said. “First, several students were detained at railway stations without justification while they were on their way to protest sites. Second, FIRs were registered without proper verification, putting students’ futures at risk.”She said many FIRs did not name all the students involved in the protests, yet police issued notices to those suspected of being present at the protest site to verify their identities and determine their role, creating anxiety among students.One student said she received a police notice via text message but did not appear before the police, maintaining that she had done nothing wrong and had merely participated in the protest

Mumbai: The BMC’s Improvement Committee on Tuesday approved a proposal to hand over the sprawling SevenHills Hospital campus at Marol to Capri Global Ventures Pvt Ltd, with the Shiv Sena-BJP-led ruling panel pushing through the proposal amid strong objections from Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress members.The proposal first came up before the committee in May but was neither approved nor rejected. Following a heated debate, it was referred back to the civic administration for reconsideration.During Tuesday’s meeting, the same proposal was tabled again, with opposition members questioning both the need for a private operator and the manner in which the proposal was processed. However, Shiv Sena corporator and chairperson of the committee Sandhya Doshi passed the proposal without any further comments being made by the civic administration.Congress’s Ashraf Azmi alleged that work had already begun at the hospital before the proposal received statutory approval. “We have learnt that the company with whom the BMC has entered into a lease agreement has already started work at the facility. How can such a move be allowed without the approval of the statutory committee?” Azmi asked.Capri Global emerged as the successful resolution applicant for SevenHills Healthcare Pvt Ltd (SHPL) through the insolvency process and will receive equity-based support from Reliance Foundation, which manages H N Reliance Hospital at Girgaum.The proposal authorises the execution of a fresh lease deed with SHPL, now under Capri Global’s ownership, enabling the hospital to continue under the original public-private partnership (PPP) model. It provides for a 30-year lease, extendable by another 30 years, for nearly 66,688 sq m of BMC-owned land at Marol in Andheri (East), where the hospital is located.Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Sachin Padwal said elected representatives from Andheri and Marol had consistently demanded that the civic body itself operate the hospital instead of handing it over to a private entity. “No private hospital reserves beds for the common public. SevenHills is a centrally located hospital that should be developed and run by the BMC. The corporation has enough funds to build and operate such a facility, especially when it is spending thousands of crores on major infrastructure projects,” he said.Congress corporator Raja Rahebar Khan sought a site inspection before the proposal was cleared. “Allegations being made by Azmi are very serious. If that is true, how could work begin without the Improvement Committee’s approval? A site visit should be conducted before any decision is taken,” he said.Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Vishakha Raut also opposed the move, arguing that the BMC had sufficient financial resources to run the hospital. “The health department has a large budget, so why involve a private party? SevenHills played a crucial role during the Covid pandemic by treating patients, and the BMC ran it very well. Why should prime BMC land be handed over?” she said.Civic officials had said the revival of SevenHills Hospital is expected to significantly augment Mumbai’s public healthcare infrastructure by bringing a long-defunct mega hospital back into operation while preserving the quota of subsidised treatment for BMC patients under the PPP model.Under the approved resolution plan, SevenHills Hospital will be redeveloped as a 1,500-bed not-profit tertiary care hospital. The new promoter has agreed to honour the conditions of the original 2005 contract and the 2013 memorandum of understanding, including reserving 20% of operational beds — 300 beds — and 20% of OPD services for BMC patients, with treatment, medicines and diagnostic tests provided at civic rates.

The SIT found that the printing facility lacked basic security safeguards expected at a high-security establishment.

Thane: Serious security lapses at an Agra-based printing press that printed the Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) question papers enabled employees to leak the examination papers, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Thane police has found during its probe into the multi-state racket, reports Pradeep Gupta.Investigators said Mahim Patran Ltd, which has its corporate office in Delhi and a printing facility in Agra, has been printing examination papers for Maharashtra’s education department for several years, as well as handling confidential papers for various examinations across the country.However, the SIT found that the printing facility lacked basic security safeguards expected at a high-security establishment. According to investigators, several sensitive areas were not covered by CCTV cameras, and employee entry and exit checks were inadequate, making it easier to smuggle confidential documents off the premises.Police alleged that these security loopholes were exploited by two company employees, Babulal Kushwaha (45) and Naresh Mahaur alias Nicky (35), who allegedly stole the TET question papers from the press and passed them to ex-employee Sonu Kumar Diwakar (35), another accused in the case. Diwakar is said to have made photocopies of the leaked papers and, on the instructions of Bijendra, distributed them to other accused who travelled to Maharashtra to sell the papers.Diwakar, who on Monday surrendered before a Bhiwandi court, was formally arrested by the SIT and produced before the court on Tuesday. The court remanded him to police custody till Aug 2 for further investigation.Probe reveals that Sonu left Mahim Patran Ltd in 2018 and was in contact with the main accused, Bijendra Gupta, who planned the entire paper leak.Meanwhile, the SIT has found that a Pune-based suspect, who is on the run, is a Maharashtra govt employee.Police said the suspect, a Class IV employee in a govt department, had expressed interest in procuring the leaked question paper. Investigators have found that nearly 50 aspirants were in contact with him and were allegedly willing to buy copies of the leaked paper.“His arrest is crucial to ascertain whether the leaked paper had actually reached candidates and to identify the people who were to receive it,” a senior police officer associated with the investigation said.The SIT has also taken the main accused, Bijendra Gupta, who is in police custody till July 30, to Samastipur in Bihar to gather more evidence against him.

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has granted ad-interim relief to Mumbai-based real estate developer SD Corporation Pvt Ltd in a defamation suit, directing that allegedly defamatory social media posts, videos and messages targeting the company and its MHADA redevelopment project should not be circulated further until the next hearing.Justice Abhay Ahuja passed the order on July 27 while hearing an interim application filed by SD Corporation in its suit against Devang Dave and others. The court held that the company had made out a prima facie case for ad-interim relief.According to the suit, SD Corporation, a joint venture between the Shapoorji Pallonji Group and the Dilip Thacker Group, alleged that the defendants had circulated false, malicious and misleading content on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and other social media platforms regarding the company’s integrated redevelopment project at Samta Nagar, Kandivali (East). The company claimed the posts accused it and MHADA of corruption and fraud, urged people to boycott the Sarova project, and sought to damage its reputation and business.The developer submitted that the redevelopment project covers a 55-acre MHADA layout comprising 166 buildings with around 2,894 allottees. It stated that 72 of the 74 cooperative housing societies are members of the Samta Nagar Cooperative Housing Societies Union Ltd, which has received MHADA’s no-objection certificate for the integrated redevelopment. Although 13 societies have challenged the project before the High Court seeking exclusion, no interim relief has been granted in those petitions, the company argued.Senior Advocate Chetan Kapadia, appearing for the developer, contended that despite a cease-and-desist notice issued on May 13, 2026, the defendant continued publishing and circulating allegedly defamatory material. The company also sought damages and a permanent injunction against further publication of such content.Counsel for defendant Devang Dave opposed the plea, arguing that truth is a complete defence to defamation and contended that the statements reflected the grievances of 11 housing societies. On being questioned by the court, however, the defence acknowledged that Dave was neither a member, purchaser nor prospective purchaser in the redevelopment project.Observing that terms such as “corrupt”, “fraud” and “scam” used in the impugned posts appeared, prima facie, to be disparaging and capable of interfering with the plaintiff’s business and contractual relations, the court granted ad-interim protection.The High Court directed the defendants and all hosts, including those not party to the litigation, not to further circulate the impugned statements, posts and videos identified in the suit until the next hearing. The court also granted ad-interim relief restraining further publication of similar allegedly defamatory material, while directing the parties to complete pleadings. The matter has been posted for further hearing on August 31, 2026.

The BMC Improvement Committee approved handing over SevenHills Hospital to Capri Global Ventures

MUMBAI: The BMC’s Improvement Committee on Tuesday approved a proposal to hand over the sprawling SevenHills Hospital campus at Marol to Capri Global Ventures Pvt Ltd, with the Shiv Sena-BJP-led ruling panel pushing through the proposal despite strong objections from Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress members.The proposal had first come up before the committee in May but was neither approved nor rejected.Following a heated debate, it was referred back to the civic administration for reconsideration.During Tuesday’s meeting the same proposal was tabled again with opposition members questioning both the need for a private operator and the manner in which the proposal was processed.However Shiv Sena corporator and chairman of the committee Sandhya Doshi passed the proposal without any further comments being made by the civic administration.Congress leader Ashraf Azmi alleged that work had already begun at the hospital before the proposal received statutory approval.“We have learnt that the company with whom the BMC has entered into a lease agreement has already started work at the facility. How can such a move be allowed without the approval of the statutory committee?” Azmi asked.Capri Global emerged as the successful resolution applicant for SevenHills Healthcare Pvt Ltd (SHPL) through the insolvency process and will receive equity-based support from Reliance Foundation, which manages H N Reliance Hospital at Girgaum.The proposal authorises the execution of a fresh lease deed with SHPL, now under Capri Global’s ownership, enabling the hospital to continue under the original public-private partnership (PPP) model.It provides for a 30-year lease, extendable by another 30 years, for nearly 66,688 sq m of BMC-owned land at Marol in Andheri (East), where the hospital is located.Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Sachin Padwal said elected representatives from Andheri and Marol had consistently demanded that the civic body itself operate the hospital instead of handing it over to a private entity.“No private hospital reserves beds for the common public. SevenHills is a centrally located hospital that should be developed and run by the BMC. The corporation has enough funds to build and operate such a facility, especially when it is spending thousands of crores on major infrastructure projects,” he said.Congress corporator Raja Rahebar Khan sought a site inspection before the proposal was cleared.“Allegations being made by Azmi is very serious. If that is true, how could work begin without the Improvement Committee’s approval? A site visit should be conducted before any decision is taken,” he said.Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Vishakha Raut also opposed the move, arguing that the BMC had sufficient financial resources to run the hospital.“The health department has a large budget, so why involve a private party? SevenHills played a crucial role during the Covid pandemic by treating patients & BMC ran it very well. If Reliance is backing Capri Global, it can build or acquire a hospital on private land. Why should prime BMC land be handed over?” she said, while also alleging that the civic law department was acting in favour of private parties.Civic officials had said the revival of SevenHills Hospital is expected to significantly augment Mumbai’s public healthcare infrastructure by bringing a long-defunct mega hospital back into operation while preserving the quota of subsidised treatment for BMC patients under the PPP model.Under the approved resolution plan, SevenHills Hospital will be redeveloped as a 1,500-bed not-for-profit tertiary care hospital.The new promoter has agreed to honour the conditions of the original 2005 contract and the 2013 memorandum of understanding, including reserving 20% of operational beds—300 beds—and 20% of OPD services for BMC patients, with treatment, medicines and diagnostic tests provided at civic rates.