Saif's 2012 hotel brawl case: Court warns of issuing non-bailable warrant against witness Malaika
Mumbai, Apr 30 (PTI): Noting that actor Malaika Arora was "intentionally" avoiding the legal proceedings by failing to appear as a witness in a 2012 hotel brawl case involving co-star Saif Ali Khan, a court in Mumbai has granted her last chance and warned of issuing a non-bailable warrant.
The court was irked after Arora failed to appear on April 29, days after a bailable warrant was issued against her.
Arora, despite having knowledge of the summons issued to her, was "intentionally" avoiding the court proceedings, the court said.
Arora was part of a group of diners that accompanied Khan at a five-star hotel on February 22, 2012, when the alleged incident occurred.
The court had already issued a bailable warrant against the actor and had directed her to appear before it on April 29.
However, when Arora skipped the appearance, Chief Judicial Magistrate K S Zanwar on Tuesday noted that an advocate representing Arora was present in court.
"Despite the knowledge, she (Arora) is trying to avoid the court proceeding intentionally," the court said.
While granting the actor a last chance, the court posted the matter for further hearing on July 9 and said if Arora failed to remain present on that day, a non-bailable warrant would be issued.
The court had first issued a bailable warrant against Arora on February 15. It was re-issued on April 8 as she didn't turn up.
Saif Ali Khan and two other accused were arrested following a complaint filed by NRI businessman Iqbal Mir Sharma.
The actor was accompanied by his wife Kareena Kapoor, her sister Karisma Kapoor, Malaika Arora, Amrita Arora, and some male friends at the hotel when the brawl broke out.
According to police, when Sharma protested the raucous chatter of the actor and his friends, Saif allegedly threatened them and subsequently punched Sharma in the nose, causing a fracture.
The NRI businessman also accused Saif and his friends of hitting his father-in-law Raman Patel.
Saif, on the other hand, has claimed that Sharma made provocative statements and used abusive language against the women accompanying him, which led to the ruckus.
Saif and his two friends- Shakeel Ladak and Bilal Amrohi - have been charge-sheeted under section 325 (assault) of the Indian Penal Code.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
