Devendra Fadnavis said a study by the Centre for Seismic Technology was already underway, but directed authorities to rope in additional reputed institutions to conduct a more comprehensive assessment of the situation

Palghar: Four back-to-back earthquake tremors struck Jawhar taluka in Palghar district on Monday night, triggering panic among residents and prompting several people to spend hours outside their homes.A 3.2-magnitude tremor was recorded at 10.04pm, with its preliminary epicentre reported near Dengachimet. The tremor caused vibrations in houses, prompting several residents to rush outdoors.At 11pm, another, stronger tremor measuring 3.4 magnitude was felt in the area. Its preliminary epicentre was reported near the Shri Jagdamba Mata temple in Hade village, close to Dengachimet. Residents said the second tremor intensified fears as ground vibrations continued for some time.Two more tremors were reportedly felt at 11.39pm and 12.05am, prompting several residents to remain outdoors for hours after midnight, fearing further shocks.No casualties or major damage have been reported so far.The district administration has alerted the agencies concerned and is monitoring the situation. An awareness campaign is also expected to be launched in Jawhar to allay residents’ fears and educate them about precautions during earthquakes.The nearby Saputara region also reported four tremors on Monday. Tremors measuring 2.9, 2.7, 2.0 and 2.8 magnitude were recorded between 7.53am and 9.38pm in areas around Shinde and Rahude villages.The district disaster management department has taken note of the tremors and is keeping a close watch on the situation.On Tuesday, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis directed the administration to undertake a comprehensive assessment of seismic activity in Nashik and Palghar districts and intensify awareness campaigns among people, especially students.An earthquake of 4.3 magnitude struck Nashik on Saturday night, followed by a tremor of 3.3 magnitude on Sunday morning, at a depth of 5 km in the Bhanwad area, close to the Hatgad mountain range near the Maharashtra-Gujarat border, as per officials.Fadnavis, during a discussion in the state cabinet meeting, said a study by the Centre for Seismic Technology was already underway, but directed the authorities to rope in additional reputed institutions to conduct a more comprehensive assessment of the situation. He also stressed the need to create greater awareness among residents about earthquakes and appropriate safety measures, sources said.The chief minister specifically directed that awareness programmes should also be conducted among students to ensure they are equipped to respond appropriately during seismic events.(With PTI inputs)

Mumbai: Concerns over regulatory compliance, civic and infrastructure problems, political instability and the business environment have come into focus after 36,211 private companies were liquidated, dissolved or struck off in Maharashtra over the past five years. The figures, disclosed by the ministry of corporate affairs in the Lok Sabha to a query by Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Rajabhau Waje, show that Mumbai recorded the highest number of closures at 12,009, followed by Pune with 6,433 and Thane with 4,704.The data has triggered criticism from opposition leaders, who blamed the state government for failing to address issues affecting businesses and job creation. The largest number of closures were recorded in business services (14,613), followed by manufacturing, mining & quarrying (6,582); trading (4196) and community; personal and social services (3,361).Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thacekray and NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar slammed the state govt for the closures.“In our Maharashtra, known as the growth engine of the nation, as many as 36,211 companies have shut down over the past 5 years, and the central government itself revealed in the Lok Sabha yesterday that a staggering 12,000 companies have closed in Mumbai, the economic capital of the country. Due to the closure of these companies, lakhs of youth in the state today have been deprived of their employment. Over the past five years, while the state rulers in Maharashtra have been engrossed in the tug-of-war for power, vital aspects like employment, industry, education, and health have been neglected—and this is the visible outcome. Be that as it may, now at least the rulers should step aside a bit from the horse-trading of power and make efforts for the state’s progress; that’s the expectation,” Rohit said in a post on X.Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray slammed the state govt for the closures. “A figure that should get all of us thinking. Ease of compliance and decriminalisation of industry ops is still pending. Civic issues, infrastructure issues haunt the industries in major industry belts like Chakan, Hinjewadi, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nashik MIDCs. The political instability, local dirty politics in the past 5 years. Whereas this should be the single most important focus of govt-job creation by promoting better education, corruption- free infrastructure development and ease of compliance of companies that are present, instead of only focusing on ease of doing business to invite new ones. But obviously, the BJP regime is fixated on land-grab schemes across cities while the regime keeps us busy fighting within ourselves as a society,” said Aaditya.

Mumbai: The city crime branch, while seeking further custody of arrested TISS student Abhirup Ashim Paul, told a court that it was probing visits to several sensitive locations that he undertook citing field work and research, alleging that his activities bore similarities to those of TISS alumnus Mahesh Raut, who was later accused in the Elgar Parishad case for alleged Maoist links.Police told the court that Paul had visited Palghar, the Sundarbans, Karave village and JNPT as part of field work or research. Police alleged that during his Palghar visit, Paul propagated Marxist ideology among locals. Investigators also examined his interactions with fishing communities in Karave, where he allegedly discussed the impact of government development projects on their livelihoods.The police said Raut had earlier visited Gadchiroli under the pretext of “college research”, whcih needs to be probed. Police are also probing Paul’s visit to the Sundarbans, where a booklet of the Purba Bangla Maoist Party was allegedly recovered from him. Investigators want to ascertain how he obtained the booklet, who guided him during the visit, and the purpose of his travel.Police further said they were examining Paul’s visit to JNPT with a professor after WhatsApp messages referring to statements such as “Say no to Indian’s corporate nuclear agenda” and “Target economic centres of control” were found. Investigators want to establish the context of the messages, Paul’s role and the purpose of the visit to the economically significant port facility.The remand application also referred to Paul’s internship with a Dehradun-based NGO and his alleged association with the Progressive Students Forum (PSF). Police described PSF as an organisation opposed to the college administration and alleged that its members had pressured the complainant through social media and threatened a witness.Police also claimed Paul was associated with the Communist Party of India in Palghar and was influenced by communist ideology. On August 9, he allegedly visited an area in Palghar with friends and posed for a photograph with a banner featuring Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara. Police later took him to the location and recorded the statement of local sarpanch Uttam Bhodwa, which, according to the investigators, indicated that Paul had propagated Marxist ideology among residents.However, the court rejected the plea for further police custody. “Considering the starting point of investigation and period gone for investigation of the allegation the investigating officer had got sufficient PCR,” the court observed, adding that the the officer had failed to make out a case for further police custody. Paul was consequently remanded in judicial custody till August 24.

Mumbai: In a huge relief to students of ILS Law college in Pune barred from appearing for their semester-end law exams in the academic year 2025-26 for attendance shortfall, the Bombay HiCh court on Monday permitted them to appear for the exams as a “strictly one-time measure’’. Justices Riyaz Chagla and Farhan Dubash relied on a recent July 21 Supreme Court order that permitted students to appear for their examinations in the academic year 25-26 as a one-time relief.The HC clarified that its relief would apply to all similarly barred students of the college who had not filed petitions, as it said the SC order had carved out similarly placed students as a “protected class’’. But the bench clarified its order was “confined to the academic session 2025–26’’.The HC said its order cannot be construed as diluting the attendance rules for any other academic session. “Students pursuing legal education shall continue to remain bound by the attendance requirements otherwise applicable to them,’’ the bench said.The HC order came in a batch of petitions filed by 41 students pursuing different years of the 3-year and 5-year law courses conducted at ILS, Pune, affiliated to the Savitribai Phule Pune University. The University said their attendance was between 46% to 54% while minimum attendance was 75%.The petitions said an earlier 70% rule with 20 % additional waiver rule ought to apply to them and also cited a Nov 3, 2025 Delhi HC order to argue their case.The Delhi HC High Court directed that no student enrolled in a recognised law college in India should be detained or prevented from appearing for examinations or from pursuing academic progression solely on account of shortage of attendance.The SC then stayed the Delhi HC order, prospectively in May. But in July, protected students across colleges against a lost academic year of 2025-26, with a one-time reprieve to appear for the final exam in that academic year when the Delhi HC order was passed. The SC order does not prescribe any minimum attendance for the protected class of last academic year student, HC noted.On Monday, disposing of the batch of petitions, the Bombay HC clarified that the Delhi HC order did not bind it, but the July SC order did.Six different HCs had differed with Delhi HC.The Pune University and the law college argued that the SC order would apply only to final examination students of the 3 year and 5 year LLB courses. But disagreeing, the HC reasoned and the SC meant “concluding exam for that academic session’’ hence the petitioners who were students of first, second, third- or fourth-year stand included.The HC said, “A student studying in an earlier year who is prevented from appearing for the semester-end examination may equally lose the academic session and, consequently, be unable to progress to the succeeding academic year’’ If the apex court “ intended to protect only students in the final year or final semester of the law course, it could readily have said so,’’ the HC explained.The HC clarified it has not dealt with the controversy raised by the students of whether the maximum condonation of 20% contemplated under Ordinance 70 was required to operate upon the minimum attendance requirement of 70% prescribed under Rule 12 of the Legal Education Rules or upon the requirement of 75% prescribed under Ordinance 68. This issue is left open.The HC had earlier granted interim protection to the Petitioners who appeared for their examinations and confirmed the relief. The HC directed the University to conduct supplementary exams within 4 weeks for academic year 2025-26 for those who could not appear.

Navi Mumbai: As the 80th Independence Day approaches, TOI visited the descendants of the freedom fighter Babu Genu, who was run over at Kalbadevi by a truck transporting imported cloth during the Swadeshi Movement in 1930. Around 200 km from Mumbai, in Mahalunge Padawal village, Ambegaon taluka, Pune district, the grandnephew of Babu Genu, Kisanrao Said (77), said that Babu Genu was only 22 years old when he died.In today’s age, our Baburao would be called a Gen Z and he would have certainly protested in today’s era, too, against the system and certain policy flaws,” Kisanrao said.Kisanrao, who lives in his ancestral village with his octogenarian brother, Babanrao Said (80), recalled a recent incident during the Mumbai protests by Gen Z, when a young woman, Rhiya Ahir, stood in front of a police van to stop it from moving ahead.“Many old timers had remembered Babu Genu after seeing the news image of a woman single-handedly holding back the police van during the Gen Z protest. He too had physically blocked a truck during British era,” said Kisanrao.The only difference, the descendant added, is that “Mumbai Police did not crush the Gen Z protester while, unfortunately, the British police did do so, killing Babu Genu”.Kisanrao has meticulously preserved several old newspaper reports of TOI, Bombay Chronicle (of Pherozeshah Mehta) and Kesari (of Lokmanya Tilak) which had reported the Kalbadevi incident in December 1930.The only facial photo of Babu Genu was sourced by the family from a picture of the martyr published in TOI, while he was taken to GT Hospital, where he succumbed to head injuries on December 12, 1930.His funeral had taken place at Girgaon Chowpatty, attended by hundreds of citizens and various Congress party members, since Babu Genu had joined the Congress and participated in peaceful satyagraha protests.Kisanrao, who retired from the accounts department of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), recalled: “Babu Genu was unmarried at the time of his death, and highly influenced by the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi. He was survived by his two brothers and a sister. Their father, Krishna Said, was a poor farmer who died early in the village, while their mother became a domestic worker in and around Parel area of Mumbai. She too died before Babu Genu’s martyrdom.”At Mumbai’s Kalbadevi, a farsan shopkeeper at Hutatma Babu Genu Road, Yogesh Joshi (66), commented: “The older generation is aware about the sacrifice of Babu Genu at the end of this lane. Now, even the younger people are knowing about him as a plaque is put up, and every year, on December 12, a remembrance programme is held here.”

The Bombay High Court urged the Maharashtra FDA to act judiciously concerning Cadila Pharmaceuticals’ medicine ban.

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to act “judiciously” after Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd challenged orders stopping the sale of some of its medicines.A bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad observed that the FDA appeared to be “displaying its powers” and questioned the regulator’s approach of taking drastic action before conducting proper inquiries.The FDA subsequently offered to revoke its orders against Cadila, issue show-cause notices and give the pharmaceutical company an opportunity to be heard before passing fresh, reasoned orders. Government pleader Neha Bhide made the submission, which was accepted by the court. The bench then disposed of Cadila’s petition.Bhide said the FDA’s action was a preventive measure and not “high-handed”, adding that it stemmed from confusion over the medicines in question.Senior counsel Birendra Saraf, appearing for Cadila, argued that the FDA’s orders, issued between July 9 and July 15, were arbitrary and high-handed as they were passed without giving the company a prior hearing. He sought quashing of the orders and an interim stay.Cadila told the court that it had already suffered substantial losses after the sale ban remained in force for about 20 days. The company also said the FDA had seized stocks worth Rs 2.4 crore across Maharashtra over alleged branding violations.The bench, however, said its concern was not the company’s losses but the impact of the ban on patients. The acting chief justice noted that a crucial medicine had remained unavailable for patients for 32 days.The court reiterated its criticism of what it described as the FDA’s tendency to “shoot first” and conduct inquiries later. The bench also warned that costs could be imposed if more instances of such “drastic action” came before it.“You have the power to use a sword, but the problem is you are using it to kill a mosquito. The power has to be judiciously exercised. It has to be used properly. Even in the cases of hotels and restaurants, you shoot first and then ask questions,” the bench observed.The court’s remarks came amid scrutiny of the FDA’s recent enforcement drive under commissioner Tukaram Mundhe to tackle non-compliance with food and drug safety standards.