Centre opposes PIL in Supreme Court on PNB fraud, says probe already on
New Delhi: The Centre on Wednesday opposed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking probe into the role of PNB's top management in the Rs 11,300 crore scam and extradition of diamond trader Nirav Modi who is alleged to be involved in it.
Opposing the PIL, Attorney General K.K. Venugopal told a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud that FIR had already been filed in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank fraud case and a probe was going on.
As Venugopal rose to oppose the PIL, petitioner lawyer Vineet Dhanda urged the bench to issue a notice to the Centre as the "kingpin of the scam Nirav Modi" had run away with the "common man's savings."
The court then witnessed some heated exchanges between Dhanda and the bench after Justice Chandrachud described the PIL as a "publicity oriented litigation."
"It is a publicity-oriented litigation. You have to make averment that the government is not investigating. We must allow the government to investigate. These are the petitions playing to the gallery. Let us not pre-empt the jurisdiction of the government (to investigate a scam)," Justice Chandrachud said.
Taking exception to the observation from the bench, Dhanda said: "The Court is insulting me," and if the PIL was being seen as "something to gain publicity from" then he would withdraw it and let the court take suo motu cognisance of the scam and look into it.
He told the bench that he had been practicing in the top court for the last 16 years and did not need to file PIL for publicity.
Telling the bench that the entire country was watching it, Dhanda said that the scam of such a magnitude has jolted the morale of the customers (account holders) and involved the interest of the country.
"If they (Government) are so efficient, why scams are taking place," Dhanda said, pointing to liquor baron Vijay Mallya leaving the country after making a Rs 9,000 crore hole in the coffers of a consortium of banks.
Dhanda said: "What he is opposing -- let him state in an affidavit."
At this Justice Chandrachud said: "The way you are pressing your plea, the purpose is to gain publicity."
Justice Khanwilkar asked Dhanda how he was arguing his plea in person. "Did you take the permission of the court for this." To which, Dhanda said that he was to be represented by his father J.P.Dhanda, who had fallen ill.
Telling the petitioner that court would like to hear the matter, Chief Justice Misra directed the next hearing to be held on March 16.
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Karnataka Milk Federation enters Delhi-NCR, offers competitive pricing on Nandini products
New Delhi, Nov 21: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday launched the Karnataka Milk Federation's (KMF) Nandini brand milk products in the Delhi-NCR market, pricing them marginally lower than competitors to gain a foothold in the region.
The cooperative will retail four cow milk variants, curd, and buttermilk from Friday, with competitive pricing that undercuts established players like Mother Dairy and Amul.
Cow milk will be sold at Rs 56 per litre, full Cream Milk at Rs 67 per litre, Standardised Milk at Rs 61 per litre, Toned Milk at Rs 55 per litre, and curd at Rs 74 per kg.
"We have surplus milk in the state. KMF along with Mandya Milk Union will market surplus milk of 3-4 lakh litres per day in Delhi-NCR," Siddaramaiah told reporters after launching the products.
The federation currently collects 100 lakh litres of milk daily, with local consumption at 60 lakh litres, leaving a surplus of 40 lakh litres for expansion into new markets.
However, the Chief Minister acknowledged the challenges of transporting milk over 2,500 km, which takes 50-54 hours.
There is a need to find new markets for surplus milk and gradually the KMF should be able to sell 5-6 lakh litres per day in Delhi-NCR, he added.
KMF Chairman LBP Bheemanaik assured that milk quality would be maintained during transit.
The federation has already partnered with 40 dealers in the Delhi-NCR region to facilitate sales, he added.
With a robust infrastructure of 26.76 lakh milk producers, 15,737 dairy cooperative societies, and 15 district milk unions, KMF has a turnover of Rs 25,000 crore and exports dairy products to over 25 countries.
State Animal Husbandry Minister K Venkatesh and Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy were present at the product launch.
ದೇಶದ ಹಾಲು ಉತ್ಪಾದನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಗುಜರಾತ್ ಮೊದಲ ಸ್ಥಾನದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದರೆ, ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಎರಡನೇ ಸ್ಥಾನದಲ್ಲಿದೆ.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) November 21, 2024
ದೆಹಲಿ ನಗರದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆ.ಎಂ.ಎಫ್ ಮತ್ತು ಮಂಡ್ಯ ಹಾಲು ಒಕ್ಕೂಟಗಳು ಸೇರಿಕೊಂಡು ವಿವಿಧ ಶ್ರೇಣಿಯ ಹಾಲನ್ನು ಮಾರುಕಟ್ಟೆಗೆ ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ ಮಾಡಿವೆ. ದೆಹಲಿಯ ನಿವಾಸಿಗಳಿಂದ ನಂದಿನಿ ಉತ್ಪನ್ನಗಳಿಗೆ ಅತ್ಯುತ್ತಮ ಸ್ಪಂದನೆ ದೊರೆಯಲಿದೆ ಎಂಬ ವಿಶ್ವಾಸ ನನಗಿದೆ.… pic.twitter.com/yUmTQknGzD
