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Nashik: In connection with the second case registered against self-styled godman Ashok Kharat, the Nashik District and Sessions Court on Thursday remanded him to police custody till April 8. Kharat was produced before the court through video conferencing for the hearing. The SIT had filed an application seeking permission to present Kharat via video conference, citing security concerns, which was accepted by the court. Permission was granted to the SIT to produce Kharat through VC, and four screens were installed inside the courtroom for the proceedings. The online hearing was conducted in the court of Judge B. N. Ichpurani. Investigating officer Kiran Kumar Suryavanshi and government pleader Adv. Shailendra Bagde presented arguments on behalf of the prosecution. During the online hearing, the judge asked Kharat to state his name. As his voice was initially not audible, the judge asked him to speak louder. The judge further asked whether Bhathe was representing him as his lawyer, to which Kharat replied in the affirmative. At the end of the hearing, when the judge asked whether he wished to say anything, Kharat folded his hands and replied, "Nothing." Kharat appeared on the four large screens installed in the courtroom. He was seen wearing a pink T-shirt, with an overgrown beard, standing still with both hands clasped together. Kharat's lawyer strongly opposed the request for an additional seven days of police custody. The defence argued that this was the second case of a similar nature and that Kharat had already undergone 14 days of police custody in the earlier matter. The lawyer further stated that the complaint in the present case had not yet been provided to the defence and that the alleged incident dates back to 2022, making further custody unnecessary. On the other hand, the prosecution informed the court that Kharat was the "mastermind" and was not cooperating with the investigation. After hearing arguments from both sides and considering the seriousness of the offence, the court remanded Ashok Kharat to police custody till April 8.
Mumbai, Dec 17 (PTI) Maharashtra Sports Minister and NCP leader Manikrao Kokate moved the Bombay High Court on Wednesday, challenging a sessions court order that upheld his conviction and two-year jail term in a 1995 cheating and forgery case. The move comes as Kokate faces the imminent threat of losing his cabinet post and his assembly seat. In mounting trouble for the minister, a court in Nashik district on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant against him in the case. Kokate's lawyer Aniket Nikam mentioned the plea before a single HC bench of Justice R N Laddha, for an urgent hearing, reason ...Read More >
Nashik, Dec 17 (PTI) In mounting trouble for Maharashtra Sports Minister Manikrao Kokate of the NCP, a court in Nashik district on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant against him in a cheating and forgery case dating back to 1995. The development comes a day after the district court upheld the two-year jail term handed to Kokate by the magistrate's court in February this year. Earlier on Wednesday, Kokate moved the Bombay High Court, challenging his conviction and the two-year jail term in the case. His lawyer mentioned the plea before a single bench of Justice R N Laddha, seeking an urgent h ...Read More >
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) minister is expected to move the Bombay High Court to challenge the verdict in order to continue working as an elected representative. The Representation of the People Act, 1951, mandates disqualification for elected representatives sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more in a criminal case. Kokate, 68, had challenged the February judgment of a first-class magistrate court, which convicted him on charges of cheating and forgery in a case dating back o ...Read More >
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court issued a contempt notice to a senior advocate after a video went viral online, showing the latter "speaking on the phone" and drinking from a "beer mug" during a hearing. The judges stated that such conduct, when public, affects both the dignity of the court and the standards expected of senior advocates. The bench of Justice A S Supehia and Justice R T Vachhani took suo motu cognizance of the video, ordered the court registry to issue a notice to senior lawyer Bhaskar Tanna and scheduled further hearing after two weeks. A decision on whether to reconsider Tan ...Read More >
Nashik, Apr 9 (PTI) Jailed self-proclaimed godman and astrologer Ashok Kharat was arrested in a third case of rape and produced via video link before a court in Maharashtra's Nashik district which on Thursday sent him to five-day police custody. In the third case, Kharat, who was first arrested in mid-March, is accused of sexually exploiting a seven-month pregnant woman, the wife of his office staffer. On April 8, Kharat was remanded to 14-day judicial custody till April 21 in the second rape case. As a result, he was sent to the Nashik Road Central Jail. However, during the hearing of the ...Read More >
Kolkata: The political slugfest following the alleged gang rape of a law student inside a south Kolkata college continued on Saturday as Trinamool took pains to distance itself from the "misogynistic remarks" of its own netas, emphasising the "quick action taken against the accused". The opposition, however, questioned security for women at workplaces and educational institutes and "promised to stay on the roads"."The remarks by MP Kalyan Banerjee and MLA Madan Mitra concerning the heinous crime were made in their personal capacities. The party unequivocally disassociates itself from their sta ...Read More >
Gurgaon: The city, which is growing at a rapid pace, stands at a crossroads where it can learn from several innovative urban management practices of other Indian cities to tackle its own challenges. At the national conference of urban local bodies in Manesar on Thursday, mayors and municipal corporations from across the country shared their strategies, offering valuable insights for Gurgaon to consider.Surat generates Rs 140 crore from selling sewage-treated water to industries and has introduced artificial intelligence to detect waste dumping; Indore segregates waste into six streams at sourc ...Read More >