Court issues summons to Mallya under new law
Mumbai, June 30: A special court here on Saturday issued summons to absconding liquor baron Vijay Mallya to appear before it on August 27.
The order came following a hearing on a fresh plea filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The ED has sought action against him under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance in the over Rs 9,000-crore bank fraud case.
Prevention of Money Laundering Act Court Special Judge M.S. Azmi ordered issue of the notice to Mallya after taking cognisance of the recent second ED chargesheet and its application on June 22 seeking to invoke the charges against him under the FEO Ordinance.
This is first time that action has been initiated invoking the new Ordinance promulgated by the government to tackle fugitive bank loan defaulters.
If Mallya -- currently holed up in the United Kingdom -- fails to honour the special court's summons, he could be proclaimed a "Fugitive Economic Offender", and all his properties can be confiscated.
The special court has earlier issued non-bailable arrest warrants in Mallya's name in the two main cases lodged by the ED, but he has denied all charges against him.
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Mamata again writes to PM Modi on Bengal flood, says her govt not consulted on water release by DVC
Kolkata (PTI): Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote another letter to PM Narendra Modi on the flood situation in West Bengal, maintaining that Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) released water from its reservoirs without consulting her government, inundating several districts.
Responding to Banerjee's earlier letter to the PM, Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Paatil had said the state's officials were informed at every stage about the release of water from DVC reservoirs, which was essential to prevent a major disaster.
Banerjee said, "While the hon'ble minister claims that the release from DVC dams was carried out by consensus and collaboration with the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Committee, including consultations with representatives of the government of West Bengal, I may respectfully disagree."
"All the critical decisions are made unilaterally by representatives of the Central Water Commission, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India without arriving at a consensus," she said.
Banerjee claimed that sometimes water is released without any notice to the state government and the views of her government are not honoured.
"Moreover peak release from the reservoirs lasting for a prolonged period of nine hours were conducted with only 3.5 hours notice which proved insufficient for effective disaster management," she said in the letter dated September 21, which was made public on Sunday.
In her letter to PM Modi on September 20, she claimed that 5 million people in the state were affected by the floods, and urged him to immediately sanction and release central funds to address the widespread devastation.
In his letter, Paatil addressed the chief minister's concerns about the flooding caused by the release of water from the DVC reservoirs.
He explained that the releases were managed by the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Committee (DVRRC), which includes representatives from the Central Water Commission, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and the DVC.
Paatil clarified that from September 14 to 17, the release of water from the Maithon and Panchet reservoirs was curtailed by 50 per cent at the request of West Bengal officials due to heavy rainfall.
