Admission procedures, reservation policies, fee fixation, grievance redressal mechanisms and recruitment and pay norms for teaching and non-teaching staff will also come under its review

Mumbai: The state govt has set up a high-level expert committee to review and overhaul the norms governing the establishment and functioning of private universities in the state in a govt resolution (GR) issued on Friday. The six-member expert committee will be headed by former UGC vice-chairman Bhushan Patwardhan. The committee has been asked to review the infrastructure requirements for private universities, including land, buildings, laboratories, digital facilities, hostels, among others.The committee will also look at the academic credentials and experience of institutions seeking to establish universities, including their NAAC accreditation, National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings, autonomous status, faculty strength, research publications and patents. Private universities in the state are currently governed by the Maharashtra Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Act, 2023, the regulations framed in 2024. The GR also highlighted the shortcomings and gaps in the existing regulatory framework. The govt has directed the committee to complete its review and submit its recommendations within two months.Admission procedures, reservation policies, fee fixation, grievance redressal mechanisms and recruitment and pay norms for teaching and non-teaching staff will also come under its review. The committee has been tasked with reviewing the infrastructure requirements for private universities, including land, buildings, laboratories, libraries, digital facilities, hostels, sports infrastructure and accessibility for persons with disabilities.The panel will also review compliance with statutory regulators such as the UGC, AICTE, PCI and BCI and recommend amendments to bring the state’s framework in line with the UGC Act, 1956, and the National Education Policy 2020.The committee has further been asked to incorporate directions issued by courts in matters concerning private higher education institutions.Former Savitribai Phule Pune University vice-chancellor Nitin Karmalkar is among the members. The panel will also include the joint/deputy secretary (university education) in the higher and technical education department, directors of technical education, arts and higher education, with the director of higher education serving as member secretary.

Seeking bail, the accused claimed he was merely an agent and investor who introduced prospective investors to the company directors

Mumbai: The special MPID court has rejected the bail plea of Naeem Sarvar Musa Anjum alias Nayeem Sarwar Moosa Anjum, a key accused in the alleged ₹61.10 crore Dream Sunshine Digital Pvt Ltd investment fraud, in which more than 10,000 investors were promised attractive returns.Designated MPID Judge Vikram R. Jagdale rejected Anjum’s bail plea after the prosecution strongly opposed his bail, claiming that Anjum, along with company directors Amanat Ali Ansari and Abdul Rahim Ansari and other co-accused, induced investors to invest in schemes floated by Dream Sunshine Digital Pvt Ltd by promising attractive returns. The EOW had in March this year registered an offence an offence of cheating against Amanat Ansari and his partners, namely Rahim Ansari, Navajis Ansari, Naeem Sarvar and Yogini Shikhe, who conspired with each other and induced the complainant and his relatives to invest in their business of mineral water, sugar, dates and construction, promising 5% returns and high profits and duped them. Police alleged that 2,907 investors were cheated of over ₹61.10 crore.Seeking bail, Anjum claimed he was merely an agent and investor who introduced prospective investors to the company directors. He contended that he and his family had invested ₹1.47 crore in the company and had no role in its day-to-day affairs. The defence also argued that only 22 out of more than 150 witnesses had made allegations against him and offered to repay investors through funds lying in his frozen bank accounts.Opposing the plea, on behalf of investors advocates Shane Ilahi Karim Pathan, Fazal Shaikh and Shoaib Shaikh. and the police stated that over 10,000 investors had been affected and the investigation was still expanding as more victims continued to come forward. Police alleged that Anjum maintained seven bank accounts through which he received approximately ₹25.54 crore between 2016 and 2026 before transferring funds to the main accused and their relatives. The agency further claimed that the prime accused remain absconding and that Anjum had not cooperated with the investigation.The court observed that the allegations involved a large-scale financial scheme affecting thousands of investors and noted the applicant’s alleged nexus with the absconding directors. Holding that there was a possibility of witness tampering and interference with the ongoing investigation, the court ruled that granting bail at this stage could adversely affect both the criminal proceedings and the recovery process under the MPID Act. The court said considering the magnitude of the alleged fraud, the court rejected Anjum’s bail application.

According to transport department officials, the deadline for drivers to complete Marathi language training ended on Aug 15

Mumbai: With working knowledge of Marathi being made mandatory for auto taxi drivers from Aug 18, those caught by RTO flying squads will be served a show-cause notice, granting them one month to learn the language and explain why action should not be initiated against them.As per the amended Maharashtra Motor Vehicle Rules, the action against non-compliant drivers will follow a three-step process.Under the first stage, RTO flying squads will conduct random checks to assess drivers’ proficiency in functional Marathi. Drivers found lacking adequate knowledge will be issued a show-cause notice and will get a month to learn the basic language. An RTO official said on Saturday that the govt programme where RTO offices trained the drivers “was not being extended at present” and such drivers may have to learn the language through private course.Second, if a driver fails to comply with the showcause notice and does not acquire the required language skills within the stipulated period, the department will suspend the driving licence for three months.For a repeated violation, authorities will issue a second notice, following which the driver’s licence may be revoked under the provisions of the amended law, officials said.Meanwhile, the state transport department has prepared over a lakh certificates on Friday and Saturday and will distribute them to auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers who have completed the basic Marathi language course conducted across Maharashtra’s 58 Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) over the past 3 months. Sources in RTOs said that these certificates will be kept by drivers who will show it to checking squads and may act as “immunity” from action against them for the ongoing. Marathi language issue.The certificates will be distributed at special functions organised simultaneously at all 58 RTOs on Monday. Drivers from across the state are expected to gather at their respective RTOs to participate in a live-streaming of a major felicitation ceremony being held at Ram Ganesh Gadkari Rangayatan in Thane. At the event, a section of drivers who completed the Marathi course will be honoured by CM Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar.According to transport department officials, the deadline for drivers to complete Marathi language training ended on Aug 15.The transport department said the initiative is aimed at improving communication between public transport drivers and commuters while promoting wider use of Marathi in public-facing services across the state. The emphasis is on auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers having functional knowledge of Marathi to ensure effective communication with passengers.

The tribunal calculated the compensation based on income tax returns, determining an average annual income of over Rs 35 lakh for the deceased

Mumbai: In one of the largest compensation payouts involving BEST, a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal has directed the transport undertaking to pay nearly Rs 5.25 crore (inclusive of interest) to the Mahim-based wife and children of a 55-year-old interior designer, killed by a speeding bus in 2018 while crossing the service road of Eastern Express Highway near Mulund to return to his car after answering nature’s call.BEST, represented by BMC, alleged that Hemant Joshi was talking on a mobile phone while crossing the road indiscriminately and failed to notice the approaching bus or hear the horn before colliding with the vehicle. Rejecting the defence, the tribunal relied heavily on the police investigation, the charge sheet and eyewitness deposition from Joshi’s assistant, who confirmed the reckless driving of the bus driver. “In the present case, documents filed on record are sufficient to prove the accident occurred due to rash and negligent driving of the driver of the offending vehicle,” the tribunal said.The tribunal calculated the compensation based on income tax returns, determining an average annual income of over Rs 35 lakh for the deceased. The tribunal ordered that 60% of the amount with accrued interest be paid to the wife, while 20% each with accrued interest be paid to the son and daughter. BMC was directed to deposit the apportioned amounts directly into the applicants’ bank accounts through NEFT or RTGS within two months.The claim was presented before the tribunal on Aug 10, 2018, by Joshi’s wife Bhagyashree, son Yashodhan and daughter Esha. Joshi’s mother, Shakuntala Joshi, was originally a claimant but died during the pendency of the proceedings and was deleted from the array of applicants.According to the claimants, Joshi had gone to VFS Global at Urmi Estate in Lower Parel on May 15, 2018, along with driver Subhash Baburao Gadekar and assistant Sachin Ramesh Chavan. After finishing work, the three proceeded towards Thane in Joshi’s car. Around 2.30 pm, when the car reached the Eastern Express Highway service road on the Thane flank at Mulund, Joshi asked the driver to stop because he wanted to attend nature’s call.The claim said that after attending nature’s call, Joshi was walking back towards the car with due care and caution when a BEST bus came at excessive speed. The family alleged that the bus was driven rashly and negligently, the driver lost control, and the bus gave a forceful dash to Joshi. The impact caused severe multiple injuries, including skull and pelvic fractures. Gadekar and Chavan took Joshi to Fortis Hospital, where Joshi died during treatment on May 17, 2018.The police registered offences for causing death by negligence and rash and negligent driving. The claim relied on the FIR, post-mortem report, wound certificate, death certificate, medical papers, hospital bills, charge sheet and income tax returns.BMC claimed that the bus was travelling from Mulund Bus Depot to Prabodhankar Thackeray Udyan, and that after the driver halted at the Bhandup PVM bus stop and proceeded, Joshi came in front of the bus. BMC said the driver sounded the horn and stopped the bus, but Joshi allegedly continued walking and collided with the left side of the bus. The tribunal did not find substance in the allegations.For assessing compensation, the tribunal considered Joshi’s income tax returns. His chartered accountant deposed that Joshi was running an interior designing business under the name Hemant Joshi and Associates as a proprietor and that the returns had been e-filed through the accountant.Since Joshi was self-employed and the income fluctuated, the tribunal took the average of three previous assessment years. The tribunal noted his age and also added 10% towards future prospects and deducted one-fourth towards personal expenses because there were four dependants at the time of the accident.The tribunal also accepted components: medical expenses, loss of dependency, loss of estate and funeral expenses.