Delhi court convicts 4 men in 2018 attempt to murder case
New Delhi (PTI): A court here has convicted three men in a 2018 attempt to murder case, pronouncing the non-recovery of the weapon of offence as inconsequential in light of witnesses' testimonies.
The court observed that the prosecution had been able to establish that the accused acted in concert when they injured two people and that they failed to provide any reasonable explanation for their conduct.
Additional Sessions Judge Rakesh Kumar was hearing the case lodged at Govind Puri Police Station.
According to the prosecution, Kumar Dev, Kailash Singh, Puran Mal and Lalit attacked Amit and Dheeraj on February 17, 2018 and hurt them grievously.
The accused launched their attack barging into a venue where the victims were having a celebration party with their family members.
In an order passed on October 19, the court said, "The non-recovery of the weapon of offence (a knife) is of no consequence in this case, as direct testimonies of injured witnesses are available to prove the guilt of the accused persons and their testimonies are the biggest guarantees of the truthfulness of the prosecution case as they have suffered injuries."
It said that the argument of the defence about the accused being falsely implicated did not inspire the court's confidence.
The court said it was proved that the victim Amit was injured by a blunt object and the other victim Dheeraj suffered grievous injuries from a sharp-edged weapon.
The identities of the four accused persons were also duly established and proved, it said.
The matter has been posted for filing of the mandatory documents and affidavits on November 11, following which the arguments on sentencing will be heard.
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Adani touts financial strength, shows can grow without external debt
New Delhi (PTI): Billionaire Gautam Adani's conglomerate on Monday touted its financial and credit details of its portfolio companies to investors, showcasing its robust profits and cash flows that can sustain growth without reliance on external debt.
The ports-to-energy conglomerate, which has been hit by an indictment in a US court against its founder chairman Gautam Adani and two other executives for allegedly bribing Indian official to secure solar power contracts, in a presentation to the investors highlighted its consistently expanding profits and cash flows, which over a period have led to lowering dependence on debt for its growth ambitions.
Equity now accounts for almost two third of its total asset creation, a stark contrast to five years ago. In the last six months, the group has invested close to Rs 75,227 crore, against a total debt increase of only Rs 16,882 crore.
A note was also shared with the investors, along with presentations.
Outlining the group's liquidity position, the note said, "Adani Portfolio companies have sufficient liquidity to cover all debt servicing requirements for at least 12 months. As of September 30, 2024, Adani Portfolio companies had a cash of Rs 53,024 crore, which was close to 21 per cent of its total gross debt outstanding".
This amount, it said, was sufficient to cover the next 28 months of debt servicing requirement.
GROWTH WITHOUT DEBT
In the past, the group has announced plans to invest over Rs 8 lakh crore (USD 100 billion) across portfolio companies in the next ten years.
The Fund Flows from Operations (FFO) or cash profits stood at Rs 58,908 crore for the last twelve months and is growing over 30 per cent for the past five years. On the basis of this, even after assuming no growth, the group will be able to invest Rs 5.9 lakh crore only from its internal cash accruals over the next ten years, leaving very little dependency on external debt.
Further, at the portfolio level, there is very low debt gearing of 2.46x -- which means it has massive headroom for debt, according to the presentation.
Other highlights from the presentation included EBITDA (earnings before interest tax and depreciation) for the last twelve months, which it said is highly stable and hence predictable due to its infrastructure projects, which grew by 17 per cent to Rs 83,440 crore.
Also, existing annual cash flows alone can pay the entire debt in 3 years.
Gross assets/investments increased by Rs 75,227 crore, against total debt increase of only Rs 16,882 crore. Asset base has now increased to Rs 5.5 lakh crore.
Average cost of borrowing at 8.2 per cent, lowest in the last 5 years, due to upgrade in ratings across group companies, it said.
Adani Group's long-term debt from domestic banks was Rs 94,400 crore. This stood against a cash balance of Rs 53,024 crore, most of which was parked with Indian banks.
Borrowings from global banks were 27 per cent of total debt.
