1. Gujarat Government Gets More Time to Reply in Hardik Patel’s Plea
The state government on Tuesday, 19 March, sought more time from the Gujarat High Court to file reply in the petition of Congress leader Hardik Patel seeking a suspension of the two-year sentence awarded to him in a rioting case registered against him during the Patidar quota stir in 2015. Patel wants the sentence to be suspended so that he can contest the Lok Sabha election.
Counsel for the state government argued that Hardik is a habitual offender with several FIRs registered against him in various police stations. The public prosecutor, thereafter, requested more time from the court to submit more documents against the Patidar leader. Hardik's lawyer Rafik Lokhandwala, however, opposed the state's request and argued before the court that the government was wasting time.
(Source: DNA)
2. ‘Murdered’ Journalist Used to File RTIs
TV9 copy editor Chirag Patel, 26, whose charred body was found on Saturday, 16 March, from near a canal on Ahmedabad’s outskirts, used to regularly file RTIs — one of them seeking details of how MPLAD (Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme) funds were used, police investigations have found.
The police collected papers related to the RTI applications that he filed “as evidence for the investigation” on Tuesday, from his home.
Jaimin Patel, brother of the victim, who insists Chirag was murdered, told The Indian Express, “Chirag often used to file RTIs and the police came to our residence today (on Tuesday) for investigation. I am not aware what the content of the RTIs filed or the replies were.”
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. Gujarat High Court Notice to Election Commission Over Bhaga Barad's Plea
The Gujarat High Court, on Tuesday, 19 March, issued a notice to the Election Commission in response to former Congress MLA Bhaga Barad's petition questioning the haste in announcing by-election to the Talala Assembly seat.
The notice was issued by the division bench of justices SR Brahmbhatt and VB Mayani.
Barad's lawyer contended before the High Court bench that the Election Commission's decision to announce the by-election for Talala was taken in haste. He said that the EC has eight weeks to declare by-election to vacant seats, but the bypoll for Talala was announced just five days after Barad's disqualification.
(Source: DNA)
4. Ishrat Jahan Case: Gujarat Won’t Let Us Prosecute Vanzara and Amin, CBI Tells Court
The Gujarat government has declined sanction for the prosecution of retired police officers DG Vanzara and NK Amin in the alleged fake encounter case of Ishrat Jahan and three others in 2004, the CBI informed a special court on Tuesday, 19 March.
This was the only information made public by the CBI which handed the Gujarat government’s response in a sealed cover to special court judge JK Pandya. Vanzara and Amin are seeking discharge from proceedings and the matter will be heard next on 26 March.
Special Public Prosecutor RC Kodekar, representing the CBI, later told The Indian Express: “The letter was in a sealed cover and only the last part where prosecution was not granted to both (Vanzara and Amin) was made public.”
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. BJP Gets Clean Chit in Poll-Related Meeting at Rupani’s House
Gujarat's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Tuesday, 19 March, said the ruling BJP has not violated the model code of conduct by holding a meeting of its State Parliamentary Board at Chief Minister Vijay Rupani's official residence.
CEO S Murali Krishna had, on Monday, ordered an inquiry into the matter after receiving a complaint in this regard from the Congress.
The inquiry into the matter did not suggest any violation of the model code of conduct, which is in force for the next month's Lok Sabha polls in Gujarat, he said.
(Source: Business Standard)
6. Bank Advances, Deposits Stagnate on Poor Growth in Gujarat
Bank deposits and advances in the state have stagnated in the current financial year, according to the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) report for the October to December quarter of the fiscal 2018-19. The overall deposits have grown by 1.94 percent, while the overall advances have grown by 8.35 percent.
Market players say that rise in advances is more to meet the liquidity of industries and is less because of actual growth. They also said that stagnation in deposits could be because of lower savings and a fall in trust on banks.
According to the report, bank deposits stand at Rs 6,75,228 crore, a rise of 1.94 percent over Rs 6,62,394 crore in the last quarter of the previous fiscal. Bankers said that this is because of deliberate lower interest rate to reduce cost of deposits.
(Source: DNA)
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