News / Author / Ayesha Arvind

Ayesha Arvind

Ayesha Arvind is a Senior Assistant Editor, specialising in legal and judicial reportage. She tracks high courts and tribunals, bringing key legal developments and their broader impact to the forefront.

Articles by Ayesha Arvind

Bail for 26-year-old man accused of kidnapping minor

The court observed that though the girl was a minor, she eloped with the accused willingly. It added that as she was an ‘educated college student,’ she must have been “aware of the consequences of her action”

cities

Published on Feb 12, 2017 12:50 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

Make budgetary allocation to provide facilities to specially abled: Bombay HC to railways

The court was hearing a PIL by the India Centre for Human Rights and Law claiming that most of the 124 suburban railway platforms in Mumbai did not have any facilities to make the stations and trains easily accessible for the specially abled passengers.

The Bombay high court on Thursday said that the Railways was “duty bound” to provide facilities for specially abled passengers and directed both the Central and Western railways to formulate a concrete plan for the same.(HT photo)

cities

Updated on Feb 10, 2017 10:54 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

Jiah Khan case: HC rejects Rabia’s plea for probe by special investigation team

Jiah’s body was found hanging from a ceiling fan in her home on June 3, 2013

Rabia urged the court to be considerate, saying “her family had been suffering for more than three years.”(HT File Photo)

cities

Updated on Feb 09, 2017 11:59 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

2008 Malegaon blasts: Maharashtra ATS fails to find audio, video evidence against Pragya Singh Thakur

In a U-turn, the Maharashtra ATS, which had initially probed the 2008 Malegaon blasts, failed to produce any video or audio evidence in the Bombay high court on Tuesday to back its claim that accused Pragya Singh Thakur attended a Bhopal meeting at which the plot was allegedly first discussed.

The ATS had claimed that accused Pragya Singh Thakur attended a Bhopal meeting at which the plot was allegedly first discussed.(HT)

cities

Updated on Feb 08, 2017 09:19 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

Flip-flops, twists and NIA-ATS showdown plague 2008 Malegaon blasts case

Besides ceaseless twists and turns, the strained ties between the Maharashtra Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS) and National Investigation Agency (NIA) have dubiously characterised and, to some extent, derailed the 2008 Malegaon blasts case.

On September 29, 2008, an “improvised explosive device” went off near Bhiku Chowk in Malegaon, Maharashtra, killing six people and injuring 101.(HT)

cities

Updated on Feb 13, 2017 07:14 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind

Bombay HC asks for Google Maps images to assess extent of damage to mangroves

“In the interest of the common public and the future generation, the government will have to ensure wetlands are safeguarded,” the court said, while posting a petition for further hearing in March this year

The HC was hearing a bunch of PILs against several real estate projects claiming such work would lead to the destruction of mangroves and encroachment of wetlands in and around the city.(Hindustan Times)

cities

Updated on Feb 08, 2017 12:16 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

Illegal land deal: Maharashtra govt gets one week to begin probe against Eknath Khadse

The bench was hearing a plea filed by a social activist Hemant Gavande alleging, among other things, that Khadse had purchased a three-acre plot at Bhosri, owned by Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), in name of his kin for Rs 3.75 crore as against the market price of Rs 40 crore...

Former Maharashtra revenue minister Eknath Khadse(HT file)

cities

Updated on Feb 07, 2017 12:59 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

Jolly LLB 2: HC orders 4 ‘defamatory’ scenes to be snipped

Less than a week before the scheduled release of Akshay Kumar-starrer Jolly LLB 2, the Bombay high court on Monday observed that a few scenes in the film “defame” the judiciary and accordingly ordered that four such scenes from the movie be “cut”.

Bollywood actors Akshay Kumar and Huma Qureshi promote their upcoming film Jolly LLB 2 in Noida on Monday.(IANS)

entertainment

Updated on Feb 06, 2017 10:46 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | ByAyesha Arvind

Kandivli double murder: HC rejects Chintan Upadhyay’s bail plea

Though Chintan said he bore no ill will towards Hema, justice Jadhav said it was apparent that their relationship was strained

The prosecution said Chintan “hired killers” to carry out the murders.(HT File Photo)

cities

Updated on Feb 03, 2017 01:17 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

Pune techie murder: HC asks Maha to produce all evidence against Hindu Rashtra Sena leader

The HC is hearing a plea filed by the accused, Hindu Rashtra Sena leader Dhananjay Desai, asking for the charges of murder and attempt to murder charges against him be dropped.

IT professional Shaikh was attacked on June 2, 2014, by a mob in Pune’s Hadapsar during violence that erupted over a social media post.(HT Photo)

cities

Published on Feb 02, 2017 12:51 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

2008 Malegaon blasts: ATS, NIA claim ignorance in HC on audio-visual clips

In the charge sheet filed by the ATS, Thakur has been accused of attending meetings convened by the right wing group in cities such as Bhopal, Indore, Faridabad, Dharamkot, and Ujjain

Six persons died and 100 were injured in the bomb blast at Malegaon on September 29, 2008.(File photo)

cities

Published on Jan 31, 2017 08:18 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

Govt cannot cite FCRA to stifle individuals, associations: HC

The court directed that the domestic and non-FCRA bank accounts of the organisation be de-freezed

In November last year, the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) had permanently cancelled the organisation’s FCRA registration, alleging the misuse of foreign funds.(HT File Photo)

cities

Published on Jan 31, 2017 12:11 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

Bombay high court asks DGFT to decide on the plea of US couples seeking return of embryos

A division bench led by Justice AS Oka has also directed the centre to explain the reason for the delay in taking a decision despite repeated representations from the couples.

The court was hearing a plea filed by two San Francisco couples who came to India in 2015 looking for a surrogate, after they failed to conceive a child biologically.(HT File)

cities

Published on Jan 28, 2017 11:00 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

HC issues notice to Rabia Khan over contempt plea filed by Pancholis

Wahab and Pancholi urged the court to initiate action against Rabia for “continuing to make defamatory statements against them and their son”

The plea claims that Rabia’s Twitter account is “followed by more than 3,500 people and she has been passing lewd remarks against the petitioners.”(HT File Photo)

cities

Updated on Jan 27, 2017 09:33 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

Aurangabad arms case: HC issues notices to Abu Jundal, 11 others

None of the accused were convicted under the MCOCA charges last year

In August last year, a special court had convicted Indian Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Abu Jundal and six others to life imprisonment(HT File Photo)

cities

Updated on Jan 26, 2017 12:07 AM IST

ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

Bombay HC raps state over delay in probe against Eknath Khadse

It also directed the state to submit a report on the steps taken so far, by February 6

The bench was hearing a plea filed by a social activist Hemant Gavande alleging, among other things, that Khadse had purchased a three-acre plot at Bhosri, owned by MIDC, in name of his kin for Rs3.75 crore as against the market price of Rs40 crore.

cities

Updated on Jan 24, 2017 10:37 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

Maha additional director-general to look into corruption in Mumbai traffic police

The Bombay high court on Tuesday directed the additional director general of Maharashtra’s anti-corruption bureau (ACB) to supervise an inquiry into charges of corruption in the traffic police department levelled by a head traffic constable on January 6.

A division bench of Justice Ranjit More and Justice Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi was hearing a petition filed by head constable Sunil Toke, who alleged that corruption was rampant in the state traffic department and sought that a case be lodged and a departmental inquiry initiated against certain allegedly corrupt officials.(HT)

cities

Updated on Jan 24, 2017 01:03 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

Will set up panel to solve overcrowding in jails: Maha tells Bombay HC

Headed by a retired high court judge, the committee will also look into ways to reduce overcrowding in the existing jails across the state, the state said.

The court was hearing a bunch of public interest litigations on poor infrastructure, sanitation, and health facilities in Yerwada jail and also across all jails in the state.(HT file photo)

cities

Published on Jan 23, 2017 09:52 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

Can police station diary be made public under RTI: Bombay HC asks state police

Justice Sadhana Jadhav questioned whether the case and station diaries of any police station could be termed as public documents and be made available to accused persons. She also asked if this practice does not hinder the police’s investigations.

Justice Jadhav was hearing a bail plea filed by a city resident Ajit Apraj who is facing charges of wrongful confinement and kidnapping.(HT file photo)

cities

Updated on Jan 22, 2017 12:33 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

No help from Scotland Yard for Dabholkar, Pansare, Kalburgi murders: CBI to HC

After pursuing the Scotland Yard for months for “expert opinion” on the ballistics sample collected in the Dabholkar-Pansare and Kalburgi murders, and seeking countless adjournments on the ground, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told the Bombay High Court on Friday that the United Kingdom government had refused to help.

Appearing for the CBI that is conducting the probe into rationalist Narendra Dabholkar’s (in picture) murder, additional solicitor-general Anil Singh told the HC that the probe agency had accordingly decided to “drop the pursuit,” and instead consult an independent forensic lab in Ahmedabad.(HT)

cities

Updated on Jan 21, 2017 08:23 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

Bombay high court asks Maharashtra to remove seal of Cambata building

The building was sealed by the city collector’s office on Wednesday, following litigation in the labour court over pending dues.

Officials from the collector’s office unseal Eros talkies cinema located in the Cambata building on Thursday(Anshuman Poyrekar)

cities

Published on Jan 20, 2017 12:23 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

2008 Malegaon blasts: NIA says ‘no objection’ to Sadhvi’s bail plea

Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for the NIA, told the court that the investigating agency had already said in its chargesheet that it did not have any evidence against Thakur.

india news

Published on Jan 19, 2017 05:01 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

Eros theatre building sealed for not paying salary to staff

Cambata Aviation, the country’s oldest private ground handler, owns the building and abruptly ceased operations in Mumbai and Delhi last year, leaving more than 1,000 employees in the lurch

Officials from the collector’s office on Wednesday afternoon reached Cambata Building with heavy police security and sealed it.(Kunal Patil)

cities

Updated on Jan 19, 2017 11:02 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByFaisal Malik and Ayesha Arvind, Mumbai

Compensating rape survivors is not charity, it’s your duty: HC tells Maha

A bench of Justices Ranjit More and Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi said that it was the state’s “duty” to come to the aid of survivors of rape, acid attack and sexual abuse and that it “wasn’t doing any charity by promising compensation and benefits.”

The Bombay high court on Tuesday came down heavily upon the state government for its “insensitivity” towards survivors of rape and sexual violence.(HT file photo)

cities

Published on Jan 17, 2017 11:00 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

Justify delay in deciding who is eligible for victim welfare scheme, HC tells state

The issue has been pending since 2014, owing to the state’s non-committal approach

The petitioners had sought that the scheme be applied retrospectively to aid survivors of rape, acid attacks or sexual abuse, who are poor and cannot afford medical treatment and counselling.(For representation)

cities

Published on Jan 16, 2017 08:08 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

‘Provoked in the name of religion’: Bombay HC grants bail to 3 murder accused

The accused went out on the road wielding hockey sticks, spotted two men on a bike, and started assaulting them.

The court held that accused did not kill the man over a personal enmity, and that they had been provoked “in the name of religion”.(HT FILE PHOTO)

cities

Updated on Jan 16, 2017 09:47 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

HC restrains industrialist from using or circulating clips defamatory to wife Poonam Bhagat

The directions came while the bench was hearing a defamation suit filed by Bhagat alleging that Shroff was in possession of several defamatory videos and audio clips and that many of such clips had found their way to YouTube, or that they were being circulated in public

Poonam Bhagat, who is in a legal battle with Jaidev Shroff, alleged in the suit that Shroff claimed before her that that he had “recorded certain clippings of her which would allegedly show the harassment and cruelty allegedly meted out to him.”(File photo)

cities

Updated on Jan 12, 2017 04:46 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

2008 Malegaon blast accused tells HC that ATS implicated him

The 2008 Malegaon blast accused, Lt. Colonel Shrikant Purohit, claimed before the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad had “fabricated evidence” in the case to “incriminate him,” and that, such injudiciousness on its part was a “substantive ground” for him to seek bail.

Shivade was arguing for Purohit following an appeal filed by the latter, challenging a sessions court order rejecting his bail application.(HT File Photo)

cities

Published on Jan 12, 2017 12:47 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

What have you done to regulate matrimonial websites: HC to Maha government

Bombay high court on Tuesday directed the state government to file an affidavit with details of the steps it has initiated to regulate matrimonial websites and marriage bureaus operational across the state that are purportedly violating provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.

cities

Published on Jan 11, 2017 01:03 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

Bombay high court grants tax exemption to BrahMos Aerospace

The Bombay high court on Tuesday held that BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd — the joint venture between Russia and India that provides BrahMos cruise missiles to the Ministry of Defence — is not liable to pay sales tax to the Maharashtra government as it only uses a unit in Nagpur to store missile parts.

BrahMos Aerospace had filed a plea before the court in 2015, challenging the sales tax imposed by the Maharashtra government merely(HT)

cities

Published on Jan 11, 2017 12:17 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAyesha Arvind, Mumbai

Copy

Whatsapp Twitter Facebook Linkedin

Ayesha Arvind

Ayesha Arvind is a Senior Assistant Editor, specialising in legal and judicial reportage. She tracks high courts and tribunals, bringing key legal developments and their broader impact to the forefront.

The court observed that though the girl was a minor, she eloped with the accused willingly. It added that as she was an ‘educated college student,’ she must have been “aware of the consequences of her action”

The court was hearing a PIL by the India Centre for Human Rights and Law claiming that most of the 124 suburban railway platforms in Mumbai did not have any facilities to make the stations and trains easily accessible for the specially abled passengers.

Jiah’s body was found hanging from a ceiling fan in her home on June 3, 2013

In a U-turn, the Maharashtra ATS, which had initially probed the 2008 Malegaon blasts, failed to produce any video or audio evidence in the Bombay high court on Tuesday to back its claim that accused Pragya Singh Thakur attended a Bhopal meeting at which the plot was allegedly first discussed.

Besides ceaseless twists and turns, the strained ties between the Maharashtra Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS) and National Investigation Agency (NIA) have dubiously characterised and, to some extent, derailed the 2008 Malegaon blasts case.

“In the interest of the common public and the future generation, the government will have to ensure wetlands are safeguarded,” the court said, while posting a petition for further hearing in March this year

Less than a week before the scheduled release of Akshay Kumar-starrer Jolly LLB 2, the Bombay high court on Monday observed that a few scenes in the film “defame” the judiciary and accordingly ordered that four such scenes from the movie be “cut”.

Though Chintan said he bore no ill will towards Hema, justice Jadhav said it was apparent that their relationship was strained

The HC is hearing a plea filed by the accused, Hindu Rashtra Sena leader Dhananjay Desai, asking for the charges of murder and attempt to murder charges against him be dropped.

In the charge sheet filed by the ATS, Thakur has been accused of attending meetings convened by the right wing group in cities such as Bhopal, Indore, Faridabad, Dharamkot, and Ujjain

The court directed that the domestic and non-FCRA bank accounts of the organisation be de-freezed

A division bench led by Justice AS Oka has also directed the centre to explain the reason for the delay in taking a decision despite repeated representations from the couples.

Wahab and Pancholi urged the court to initiate action against Rabia for “continuing to make defamatory statements against them and their son”

None of the accused were convicted under the MCOCA charges last year

It also directed the state to submit a report on the steps taken so far, by February 6

The Bombay high court on Tuesday directed the additional director general of Maharashtra’s anti-corruption bureau (ACB) to supervise an inquiry into charges of corruption in the traffic police department levelled by a head traffic constable on January 6.

Headed by a retired high court judge, the committee will also look into ways to reduce overcrowding in the existing jails across the state, the state said.

Justice Sadhana Jadhav questioned whether the case and station diaries of any police station could be termed as public documents and be made available to accused persons. She also asked if this practice does not hinder the police’s investigations.

The building was sealed by the city collector’s office on Wednesday, following litigation in the labour court over pending dues.

Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for the NIA, told the court that the investigating agency had already said in its chargesheet that it did not have any evidence against Thakur.

Cambata Aviation, the country’s oldest private ground handler, owns the building and abruptly ceased operations in Mumbai and Delhi last year, leaving more than 1,000 employees in the lurch

A bench of Justices Ranjit More and Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi said that it was the state’s “duty” to come to the aid of survivors of rape, acid attack and sexual abuse and that it “wasn’t doing any charity by promising compensation and benefits.”

The issue has been pending since 2014, owing to the state’s non-committal approach

The accused went out on the road wielding hockey sticks, spotted two men on a bike, and started assaulting them.

The directions came while the bench was hearing a defamation suit filed by Bhagat alleging that Shroff was in possession of several defamatory videos and audio clips and that many of such clips had found their way to YouTube, or that they were being circulated in public

Bombay high court on Tuesday directed the state government to file an affidavit with details of the steps it has initiated to regulate matrimonial websites and marriage bureaus operational across the state that are purportedly violating provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.

Join Hindustan Times

Create free account and unlock exciting features like