SEBI-Sahara case: SC to hear on Monday pleas of employees for payment of pending salaries
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday the interim pleas of employees seeking payment of their pending salaries from the Sahara Group companies.
According to the apex court cause list, a bench headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai is likely to hear the matter.
On October 14, the top court had sought responses from the Centre, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and other stakeholders on a plea of Sahara India Commercial Corporation Ltd. (SICCL) seeking permission to sell its 88 prime properties to Adani Properties Private Limited.
The plea of SICCL is already listed for hearing on November 17.
On Friday, the CJI was urged by the lawyers that the interim pleas of employees be also listed on Monday as they have not received salaries for many months.
Earlier, the bench, also comprising Justices Surya Kant and M M Sundresh, heard the interlocutory application (IA) of SICCL in the long-pending matter relating to the Sahara Group's refund obligations.
Taking note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, the bench ordered that Union ministries of Finance and Cooperation be made parties to the present proceedings, and sought their responses to the plea by November 17.
It asked amicus curiae -- senior advocate Shekhar Naphade -- to collate details of the 88 properties proposed to be sold by SICCL to the Adani Group company.
The bench asked the amicus curiae to also take note of the responses of other stakeholders with regard to these properties and give details about their nature, including whether the properties are clean or disputed.
The bench asked the Centre, the amicus curiae and SEBI to respond to the prayers made in the application by the Sahara firm.
"We will decide on whether the properties are to be sold piecemeal or in one flock," the CJI said.
The court directed the Sahara Group to examine the claim of the workers who have not been paid their salaries for many years. It also asked the amicus curiae to examine the matter of employees' salaries and arrears, and said it will consider it on the next date of hearing.
It fixed all pleas, including the intervention application and the plea of the Sahara firm, for consideration on November 17.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
