Maharashtra ex-Deputy CM Bhujbal gets bail
Mumbai, May 4: Former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal was granted bail by the Bombay High Court on Friday.
The NCP legislator from Yeola in Nashik has been in jail for nearly two years and two months since his arrest on March 14, 2016 in certain cases pertaining to corruption and money laundering.
After his bail pleas were rejected on at least five previous occasions, Bhujbal, 71, got bail on Friday on various grounds including his frail health, advanced age and the fact that the trial has not yet started, his lawyer Sujay Kantawala told mediapersons.
NCP leaders Ajit Pawar, MP Supriya Sule-Pawar and state spokesperson Nawab Malik hailed the ruling as thousands of Bhujbal supporters erupted in celebrations with fireworks and distribution of sweets in both Mumbai and Nashik.
However, former AAP leader and anti-graft activist Anjali Damania pointed out that the court has only granted him bail, "he has not been exonerated or acquitted in the corruption cases and he will again go to jail".
The founder-president of the influential Mahatma Phule Samata Parishad, Bhujbal's role during his tenure as Public Works Department Minister had been under a scanner after allegations of a scam in the construction of the Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi, money laundering and other charges.
Suffering from ill health, he has been in and out of hospital several times in the past over two years, and it is not immediately known when he will return to active politics.
Starting his career with the Shiv Sena, the senior OBC leader who is an aggressive force in state politics is expected to walk out of custody later this evening after completing the bail formalities, including furnishing a bail bond amount of Rs 5 lakh, said his lawyer.
His nephew and former NCP MP from Nashik, Sameer Bhujbal, who was also arrested in February 2016 on various charges of corruption, is currently in judicial custody.
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Bombay High Court strikes down Centre's plan to set up Fact-Check Unit
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has struck down the central government's plan to establish a fact-checking unit (FCU) under the Information Technology Amendment Rules, 2023. The decision comes in response to a petition filed by standup comedian Kunal Kamra, challenging the constitutional validity of the Centre's move.
Justice A.S. Chandurkar, delivering the final verdict, declared that the proposed IT Amendment Rules violated key provisions of the Indian Constitution, namely Articles 14 (right to equality), 19 (freedom of speech and expression), and 19(1)(g) (right to profession).
“I have considered the matter extensively. The impugned rules are violative of Articles 14, 19, and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India,” Justice Chandurkar said in his judgment. He further remarked that terms like "fake, false, and misleading" in the IT Rules were "vague" and lacked a clear definition, making them unconstitutional.
This judgment followed a split verdict issued by a division bench of the Bombay High Court in January. The bench, consisting of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale, was divided in their opinions. While Justice Patel ruled that the IT Rules amounted to censorship and struck them down, Justice Gokhale upheld the rules, arguing that they did not pose a "chilling effect" on free speech, as the petitioners had claimed.
The matter was then referred to a third judge, leading to today's decision. The Supreme Court had previously stayed the Centre's notification that would have made the fact-checking unit operational, stating that the government could not proceed until the Bombay High Court ruled on the case.
Kunal Kamra and other petitioners had argued that the amendments posed unreasonable restrictions on freedom of speech and expression. They contended that the provisions would lead to government-led censorship, effectively granting the government unchecked powers to determine what constitutes 'truth' online. The petitioners further claimed that such powers would turn the government into "prosecutor, judge, and executioner" in matters of online content.
With the Bombay High Court’s ruling, the Centre's move to create fact-checking units has been effectively halted, reaffirming the importance of protecting freedom of speech and expression in the digital space.
