New Delhi: On Wednesday, July 24, the Delhi High Court issued a notice to the Delhi Police concerning Umar Khalid’s bail plea in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) case, requesting a response.

A division bench consisting of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Girish Kathpalia has asked the Delhi Police to respond and has scheduled the hearing for August 29. The Delhi Police’s special cell, which is investigating the case, alleges that Khalid had pre-planned protests at 23 locations in 2020, leading to riots in the northeast district of the national capital.

Earlier in May, Khalid’s second bail plea was rejected by the trial court, which noted that the previous denial of bail had become final. On May 28, the court stated that there was no delay by the Delhi Police in framing charges and starting the trial. The court also pointed out that the accused had filed separate applications requesting the prosecution confirm if the investigation was complete before framing charges. In rejecting the bail plea, the trial court referred to the Delhi High Court’s order, which stated that allegations against the accused are prima facie true and that he does not deserve bail.

The court ruled that since the delay was caused by the accused, he cannot benefit from it. The decision on Khalid’s bail application had been reserved by the court on May 13.

Umar Khalid has been in custody since September 2020. The investigation continues even after the filing of charge sheets and supplementary charge sheets.

Special Judge Sameer Bajpai, in his order, said, “The Hon’ble High Court analysed the case against the applicant and concluded that allegations against the applicant are prima facie true, and the embargo created by Section 43D(5) of UAPA squarely applies, meaning the applicant does not deserve bail.”

“It is clear that the Hon’ble High Court has minutely considered the role of the applicant and declined the relief as desired by him,” Special Judge Bajpai observed in the order passed on May 28.

The trial court has dismissed both of Khalid’s bail applications. He was arrested in September 2020 and has been in custody since then. He sought regular bail under Section 437 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, read with Section 43D (5) of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967.

In a startling development in the ₹187 crore scam involving the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation, two Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials are now facing accusations of misconduct.

A case was registered on Monday at the Wilson Garden Police Station following a complaint from Kallesh B, Additional Director of the Social Welfare Department. The complaint alleges that the ED officers tried to coerce Kallesh into falsely implicating Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Finance Department.

The complaint names ED officials Murali Kannan and a person identified only as Mittal, accusing them of “joint criminal liability with a common intention,” “criminal intimidation,” and attempting to “provoke a breach of peace.”

Kallesh claims that during an interrogation on July 16, Kannan questioned him with 17 questions and then tried to pressure him into framing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, former minister B Nagendra, and the Finance Department. According to Kallesh, Mittal also threatened to implicate him in the case unless he agreed to accuse high-ranking officials, including the Chief Minister, former minister B Nagendra, and the Finance Department.

This new twist comes amidst ongoing investigations into the alleged embezzlement of ₹187 crore, which includes the illegal transfer of ₹88 crore to Hyderabad-based firms. Both the Special Investigation Team formed by the Karnataka government and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are working on the case.

The CBI has enlisted the ED for further investigation, leading to raids at the residences of former minister B Nagendra and Valmiki Corporation chairperson and MLA Basanagouda Daddal. The ED has also arrested Nagendra, who is currently in judicial custody.

On Tuesday, India’s SpiceJet announced plans to raise 30 billion rupees (approximately $360 million) by selling securities, including shares. This move is the struggling budget airline’s latest effort to secure funds and restore full operations.

The company stated in an exchange filing that it will issue shares to institutional investors, but did not disclose the selling price.

SpiceJet has been urgently seeking funds following a series of quarterly losses. Some lessors have taken the airline to court over unpaid dues and have requested the country’s aviation regulator to deregister their planes.

As of the end of March, SpiceJet had cash and cash equivalents of 1.87 billion rupees, while its cash from operational activities was a negative 6.13 billion rupees.

Unlike other major Indian airlines like IndiGo and those under the Air India group, which have introduced newer jets over the past year to meet booming demand in one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets, SpiceJet has struggled to return grounded jets to service, losing market share due to its legal and financial issues.

In the June quarter, SpiceJet’s market share was 4.2%, slightly below the 4.7% of the newest entrant, Akasa Air, marking only the second time this has happened since Akasa Air began operations in mid-2022, according to data from India’s aviation regulator.

Following the announcement, SpiceJet shares rose as much as 7% to 58.65 rupees. However, its shares are down about 4% in 2024, in contrast to a 44% increase in market leader IndiGo’s shares.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday gave X (formerly known as Twitter) and Google 24 hours to remove social media posts alleging that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s daughter, Anjali Birla, an Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) officer, cleared the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam in her first attempt due to her father’s influence.

Justice Navin Chawla stated that the posts were made without proper verification and were not genuine.

“The social media posts complained of do not appear to be made after due verification. The purpose of posting the impugned social media posts in 2024 and the language therein does not appear to be bona fide. Defendants number 1 and 2 are also directed to remove/block the social media content which has been complained of in the present suit till further orders,” the court said.

This order came after senior advocate Rajiv Nayyar, representing Birla, argued that the posts were being circulated recklessly, three years after his client joined the service, to damage the reputations of both Anjali Birla and her father.

Birla’s defamation suit, filed by advocates Aditya Bharat Manurbarwala and Sanyam Khetarpal, stated that she had appeared for the UPSC CSE 2019 exam and joined the IRPS on April 26. The suit claimed that a false and malicious campaign against her and her family began in 2021 due to her father’s political status and resurfaced after he became the 18th Lok Sabha Speaker, aiming to create unrest during the investigation of the alleged NEET exam paper leak.

“The frivolous tweets, comments, posts, and statements on social media platforms are also aimed at somehow connecting the Plaintiff’s UPSC result to the alleged NEET Examination, 2024 paper leak, which are not even remotely related to each other in any sense whatsoever. The tweets/posts were uploaded in such a manner that they are being viewed by lakhs of people and have been tweeted/retweeted thousands of times,” the suit said.

Birla also asserted in her suit that her private pictures were circulated from her own social media accounts and other public forums, falsely portraying her as a model, violating her right to privacy.

“The images of the plaintiff presumably from her own social media account and other public forums is to paint a false and distasteful picture of the plaintiff being a model. The images have been taken out of context in many ways to succeed in their nefarious agendas. The content and narrative of all the videos that are the subject matter of this suit is false and there is not even an iota of truth that resides therein. The posts also portray the father of the plaintiff in a very poor light,” the suit said.

According to media reports, the wife of a Gujarat cadre IAS officer, who had eloped with a gangster nine months ago, allegedly died by suicide after returning home. The woman, who was a prime suspect in two criminal cases, consumed poison on Saturday, July 21, and left a suicide note addressed to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, reported the Indian Express.

The 45-year-old, Surya Jay from Tamil Nadu, died by suicide outside her IAS husband Ranjeet Kumar’s house on Saturday, July 21, according to NDTV. The Hindustan Times reported that her husband had instructed the domestic staff not to allow her into the house. Surya Jay faced two criminal charges, including one for child abduction.

She was admitted to Gandhinagar Civil Hospital after the suicide attempt but died the next day. Media reports indicate that the couple had separated in 2023 and had filed for divorce.

Police suggest that the woman may have gone to her husband’s home to avoid arrest by Tamil Nadu police. In her suicide note addressed to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, she described how she was lured by a local gangster named Raja and became involved in two criminal cases where Raja was the prime suspect.

One case was related to loan recovery from a woman who had borrowed money from the gangster, and the other involved the abduction of a boy in Tamil Nadu, reported the Indian Express, citing police officials.

In her suicide note, Surya Jay also mentioned her IAS husband, describing him as a “noble man” who took care of their children in her absence, according to the Indian Express.