Adani bribery case: US court orders joint trial of criminal, civil cases
New York: A US court has combined three cases against industrialist Gautam Adani into a joint trial, citing similar allegations and transactions. The charges involve the payment of USD 265 million (approximately Rs 2,029 crore) in bribes to secure solar energy contracts with state electricity distribution companies.
The cases consolidated for the trial include US vs Adani and others (a criminal case), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) vs Adani and others (a civil case), and SEC vs Cabanes (a civil case involving other accused).
The decision, taken to ensure judicial efficiency and avoid scheduling conflicts, assigns all cases to District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis, who is already overseeing the criminal case against Adani.
US prosecutors have alleged that the Adani Group concealed the bribery allegations from US banks and investors while raising funds for solar energy projects.
Refuting the accusations, the Adani Group described them as "baseless," asserting, "We are a law-abiding organisation, fully compliant with all laws." A company spokesperson emphasised that the indictment is based on charges, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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BJP trying to add illegal voters from outside in Bengal electoral rolls: Mamata
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday alleged that the BJP was trying to include illegal voters from Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in the electoral rolls of the state to turn the poll outcome in favour of the saffron party.
Addressing an election rally in Paschim Medunipur’s Chandrakona, Banerjee also reiterated her plea before the gathering to ignore who the TMC candidates in the state’s assembly segments were and consider her as the candidate in all 294 seats.
“I was informed by Abhishek (Banerjee) yesterday that he had to rush to the EC office in Kolkata from the middle of his campaign schedule upon receiving information that about 30,000 forms were submitted in a single day to include fresh voters,” the TMC supremo said.
“The BJP is trying to include illegal voters from Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in the electoral rolls of Bengal. They are planning to transport outstation voters by means of railways, as they did in Bihar,” she alleged.
Claiming that the saffron party has "no respect" for Bengal and its people, the chief minister accused the BJP of colluding with the Election Commission and deleting names of women and minorities from the state’s electoral rolls in the garb of the SIR exercise.
“The BJP and EC are snatching the citizenship, constitutional and democratic rights of people. We will fight them every inch of the way,” Banerjee said.
Maintaining that the BJP would impose “ban on non-veg food consumption” of Bengalis if it comes to power in the state, the CM said the TMC would thwart the Centre’s attempts to implement NRC in the state through a backdoor and its plans of sending targeted citizens to detention camps.
