Day after arrest by ED, Gujarat Samachar owner gets temporary bail on health grounds
Ahmedabad, May 16 (PTI): A court in Ahmedabad on Friday granted bail to one of the owners of leading Gujarati daily 'Gujarat Samachar' Bahubali Shah till May 31 on health grounds a day after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate.
Principal district and sessions judge K M Sojitra ordered Shah's release on interim bail while adjourning the hearing on his application for regular bail to May 31.
The sessions court directed Shah, 73, to furnish a surety and personal bond of Rs 10,000. It also imposed the condition that the investigating agency must be informed about his health status every other day, and he must cooperate with the investigation subject to his medical condition.
The ED , which arrested Shah at 8 pm on Thursday, did not oppose interim bail, stating it was giving its consent "strictly on humanitarian grounds and extreme medical condition of the accused."
Shah is one of the directors of Lok Prakashan Limited which owns `Gujarat Samachar'. His elder brother Shreyansh Shah is the managing editor of the daily.
Soon after his arrest, Shah was taken to a government hospital after his health deteriorated, and from there to a private hospital where he was admitted in the ICU, the court was informed.
He approached the court seeking interim bail on the grounds of "serious medical/health condition."
"The medical certificate of Zydus Hospital dated Friday reveals that he is admitted in ICU...along with other medical conditions he is diagnosed Vertigo, Left paramedian infarct and having a complaint of drowsiness and blurry vision," the court noted in the order.
The "interest of justice would be served if the accused is ordered to be released on interim bail during the pendency of hearing of his regular bail application with conditions," the judge added.
Shah's lawyer said he approached the court with a regular bail application, but at present he was confining the arguments for interim bail "on humanitarian ground" due to his client's serious medical condition.
The ED will be provided updates of Shah's medical condition and he will cooperate fully with the investigation, the lawyer assured.
The central agency has not yet issued any statement about the reasons behind Shah's arrest.
The ED conducted searches at the offices of GSTV, a Gujarati news channel run by Shreyansh Shah, in Ahmedabad on Thursday evening. The ED team arrived soon after the Income Tax department searched the premises for 36 hours, said Tushar Dave, head of digital services at GSTV, in a Facebook post.
MLA and Gujarat Congress working president Jignesh Mevani alleged that the newspaper and its owners were being targeted, because for the last 25 years, Gujarat Samachar has been publishing reports critical of the Union government.
Media bodies in the national capital also expressed concern over Bahubali Shah's arrest by the ED.
The Press Club of India, Indian Women's Press Corps, Press Association, Delhi Union of Journalists, Kerala Union of Working Journalists, Working News Cameramen's Association said the ED action "reflects a troubling assault on press freedom and democratic values that uphold the right to free expression in India."
The arrest raises questions about the misuse of state machinery to muzzle media houses and suppress dissenting voices, they said in a joint statement.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
