Hon'ble Mr. Justice Swatanter Kumar (Chairperson) Hon'ble Mr. Justice M.S. Nambiar (Judicial Member) Hon'ble Dr. D.K. Agrawal (Expert Member) Hon'ble Dr. R.C. Trivedi (Expert Member) Dated: October 16, 2014

1. Whether the judgment is allowed to be published on the net?

2. Whether the judgment is allowed to be published in the NGT Reporter?

JUSTICE SWATANTER KUMAR, (CHAIRPERSON) The first applicant in this application claims to be a public spirited person who has been working in the field of environment conservation. The second applicant is an organisation working in the field of environment across the country. Both these applicants raise a specific substantial question relating to environment with respect to water pollution in the River Ganga, particularly, between Garh Mukteshwar and Narora, due to discharge of highly toxic and harmful effluents. It is alleged that highly toxic and 4 harmful effluents are being discharged by the respondent units into the Sambhaoli drain/Phuldera drain that travels along with the Syana Escape Canal which finally joins River Ganga. These units had constructed underground pipelines for such discharge. According to the applicants, Simbhaoli Sugar Mills was established in 1933 and presently is operating three sugar mills and three distilleries in the State of Uttar Pradesh. The total crushing capacity of all three complexes is of 20100 TCD. The unit at Simbhaoli alone has a crushing capacity of 9500 TCD. In just outside the premises of this sugar mill, untreated effluents are being discharged into the drain which finally joins the River Ganga. The other unit, Gopalji Dairy which is producing milk and milk products of different kinds, also discharges untreated effluents in the same Simbhaoli drain. The contamination from discharge of trade effluents is so high that it not only pollutes the Syana Escape canal and the River Ganga but also threatens the life of endangered aquatic species such as dolphins, turtles and other aquatic life. It has also polluted the groundwater of villages from where it passes through, like Bauxar, Jamalpur, Syana, Bahadurgarh, Alampur, Paswada and Nawada village. It is the submission of the applicant that the Gangetic Dolphin is a highly endangered species and is listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. It is also submitted that the WWF India has come out with a report on Ganges and has recorded the finding that a large number of factories like sugar, chemicals, 5 fertilizers, small-scale engineering etc. located at the bank of the river, discharge their effluents directly into the River Ganga and pollute the river to a considerable extent. It is estimated that nearly 260 million litres of industrial waste-water, largely untreated, is discharged by these units while the other major pollution inputs include runoff from the agricultural fields. It is submitted that more than 6 million tonnes of chemical fertilizers and 9,000 tonnes of pesticides are used annually within the basin. The dumping of untreated effluents has also been reported in several newspapers many times and one of the news article published in India Today dated 19th July, 2010 titled as "Ganga Chokes as Sugar Mills Dump Wastes" reported that Simbhaoli Sugar Mills has been rushing its poisonous industrial waste directly into the River. As a result thereof, the colour of green water is black and it stinks around the year. Several large fishes have died and four of the buffaloes of the villagers died after they drank the drain water.

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Swatanter Kumar (Chairperson) Hon'ble Mr. Justice M.S. Nambiar (Judicial Member) Hon'ble Dr. D.K. Agrawal (Expert Member) Hon'ble Dr. R.C. Trivedi (Expert Member) Dated: October 16, 2014

1. Whether the judgment is allowed to be published on the net?

2. Whether the judgment is allowed to be published in the NGT Reporter?

JUSTICE SWATANTER KUMAR, (CHAIRPERSON) The first applicant in this application claims to be a public spirited person who has been working in the field of environment conservation. The second applicant is an organisation working in the field of environment across the country. Both these applicants raise a specific substantial question relating to environment with respect to water pollution in the River Ganga, particularly, between Garh Mukteshwar and Narora, due to discharge of highly toxic and harmful effluents. It is alleged that highly toxic and 4 harmful effluents are being discharged by the respondent units into the Sambhaoli drain/Phuldera drain that travels along with the Syana Escape Canal which finally joins River Ganga. These units had constructed underground pipelines for such discharge. According to the applicants, Simbhaoli Sugar Mills was established in 1933 and presently is operating three sugar mills and three distilleries in the State of Uttar Pradesh. The total crushing capacity of all three complexes is of 20100 TCD. The unit at Simbhaoli alone has a crushing capacity of 9500 TCD. In just outside the premises of this sugar mill, untreated effluents are being discharged into the drain which finally joins the River Ganga. The other unit, Gopalji Dairy which is producing milk and milk products of different kinds, also discharges untreated effluents in the same Simbhaoli drain. The contamination from discharge of trade effluents is so high that it not only pollutes the Syana Escape canal and the River Ganga but also threatens the life of endangered aquatic species such as dolphins, turtles and other aquatic life. It has also polluted the groundwater of villages from where it passes through, like Bauxar, Jamalpur, Syana, Bahadurgarh, Alampur, Paswada and Nawada village. It is the submission of the applicant that the Gangetic Dolphin is a highly endangered species and is listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. It is also submitted that the WWF India has come out with a report on Ganges and has recorded the finding that a large number of factories like sugar, chemicals, 5 fertilizers, small-scale engineering etc. located at the bank of the river, discharge their effluents directly into the River Ganga and pollute the river to a considerable extent. It is estimated that nearly 260 million litres of industrial waste-water, largely untreated, is discharged by these units while the other major pollution inputs include runoff from the agricultural fields. It is submitted that more than 6 million tonnes of chemical fertilizers and 9,000 tonnes of pesticides are used annually within the basin. The dumping of untreated effluents has also been reported in several newspapers many times and one of the news article published in India Today dated 19th July, 2010 titled as "Ganga Chokes as Sugar Mills Dump Wastes" reported that Simbhaoli Sugar Mills has been rushing its poisonous industrial waste directly into the River. As a result thereof, the colour of green water is black and it stinks around the year. Several large fishes have died and four of the buffaloes of the villagers died after they drank the drain water.

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Swatanter Kumar (Chairperson) Hon'ble Mr. Justice M.S. Nambiar (Judicial Member) Hon'ble Dr. D.K. Agrawal (Expert Member) Hon'ble Dr. R.C. Trivedi (Expert Member) Dated: October 16, 2014

1. Whether the judgment is allowed to be published on the net?

2. Whether the judgment is allowed to be published in the NGT Reporter?

JUSTICE SWATANTER KUMAR, (CHAIRPERSON) The first applicant in this application claims to be a public spirited person who has been working in the field of environment conservation. The second applicant is an organisation working in the field of environment across the country. Both these applicants raise a specific substantial question relating to environment with respect to water pollution in the River Ganga, particularly, between Garh Mukteshwar and Narora, due to discharge of highly toxic and harmful effluents. It is alleged that highly toxic and 4 harmful effluents are being discharged by the respondent units into the Sambhaoli drain/Phuldera drain that travels along with the Syana Escape Canal which finally joins River Ganga. These units had constructed underground pipelines for such discharge. According to the applicants, Simbhaoli Sugar Mills was established in 1933 and presently is operating three sugar mills and three distilleries in the State of Uttar Pradesh. The total crushing capacity of all three complexes is of 20100 TCD. The unit at Simbhaoli alone has a crushing capacity of 9500 TCD. In just outside the premises of this sugar mill, untreated effluents are being discharged into the drain which finally joins the River Ganga. The other unit, Gopalji Dairy which is producing milk and milk products of different kinds, also discharges untreated effluents in the same Simbhaoli drain. The contamination from discharge of trade effluents is so high that it not only pollutes the Syana Escape canal and the River Ganga but also threatens the life of endangered aquatic species such as dolphins, turtles and other aquatic life. It has also polluted the groundwater of villages from where it passes through, like Bauxar, Jamalpur, Syana, Bahadurgarh, Alampur, Paswada and Nawada village. It is the submission of the applicant that the Gangetic Dolphin is a highly endangered species and is listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. It is also submitted that the WWF India has come out with a report on Ganges and has recorded the finding that a large number of factories like sugar, chemicals, 5 fertilizers, small-scale engineering etc. located at the bank of the river, discharge their effluents directly into the River Ganga and pollute the river to a considerable extent. It is estimated that nearly 260 million litres of industrial waste-water, largely untreated, is discharged by these units while the other major pollution inputs include runoff from the agricultural fields. It is submitted that more than 6 million tonnes of chemical fertilizers and 9,000 tonnes of pesticides are used annually within the basin. The dumping of untreated effluents has also been reported in several newspapers many times and one of the news article published in India Today dated 19th July, 2010 titled as "Ganga Chokes as Sugar Mills Dump Wastes" reported that Simbhaoli Sugar Mills has been rushing its poisonous industrial waste directly into the River. As a result thereof, the colour of green water is black and it stinks around the year. Several large fishes have died and four of the buffaloes of the villagers died after they drank the drain water.

2. Brief facts and allegations in the present case are summarised as under:

a. The Informants i.e., Mr. Meet Shah and Mr. Anand Ranpara are individuals residing in Ahmedabad and Rajkot, respectively.

b. OP-1 is the Ministry of Railways, which controls Indian Railways, a departmental undertaking of the Government of India which is administered by the Railway Board. The Ministry of Railways through Railway Board also owns and administratively controls a large number of Public Sector Undertakings including IRCTC.

c. OP-2, IRCTC is a public sector enterprise incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 and is stated to be an extended arm of Indian Railways. OP-2 is, inter-alia, engaged in online ticketing operations of Indian Railways.

2. The Informant, a company incorporated in May, 2015, has been operating under the brand name of Treebo Hotels' and is in the business of providing franchising services to budget hotels in India. In addition to this, Treebo also provides service to numerous independent budget hotels who partner with it under its newly launched 'Hotel Superhero' scheme. Under the said scheme, Treebo only provides services such as hotel management technology services, listing on its platform and other online travel aggregators, credit facilities, support and quality control of the staff and hotel management resources etc. but does not provide its brand name.

3. MMT is an Online Travel Agency (OTA) engaged in the business of providing travel and tourism related services in India. It is a part of MakeMyTrip group of companies (MMT Group). OYO, on the other hand, provides budget accommodation to customers and is in the market for providing franchising services to budget hotels under the brand name 'OYO'.

1. The present case pertains to alleged cartelisation amongst certain parties in relation to Requests for Quotations ('RFQs') issued by certain Automobile Original Equipment Manufacturers ('OEMs') for supply of (i) Anti-Vibration Rubber Products ('AVR Products'); and (ii) Automotive Hoses (Water and Fuel) ('Hoses').

Suo Motu Case No. 01 of 2016 1

PUBLIC VERSION

2. The case commenced upon receipt of certain information under the provisions of Section 46 of the Competition Act, 2002 (the 'Act') read with the Competition Commission of India (Lesser Penalty) Regulations, 2009 (the 'LPR') which disclosed that two or more of the following companies had exchanged information and/ or reached agreements amongst themselves, as to who would supply AVR Products and Hoses in response to the RFQs issued by certain Automobile OEMs:

2. It was stated that OP-1 is an association of man-made fibre manufacturers in India; OP-2 is the largest producer and seller of Viscose Staple Fibre (VSF) in India; OP-3 is a company registered in Thailand and promoted by OP-2; and OP-4 is a company belonging to the Aditya Birla Group operating in Indonesia and engaged in the business of manufacturing, selling and exporting VSF to customers located in the US, Europe, Turkey, Japan, Korea, China and other countries in both textile and non-woven segments.

3. The Informant alleged that OP-2 is the sole producer of VSF having a market share of almost 100% in India and it is misusing its sole position in the domestic market to squeeze the textile industry consumers. With regard to OP-3 and OP-4, it was alleged that OP-2 imports and markets its products and Case No. 62 of 2016 2 Public Version OP-3, operating from Thailand and OP-4, operating from Indonesia, have joined hands to exploit the Indian market.

This Suo-Moto Writ Petition has been taken up pursuant to a note dated 07.05.2020 of Registrar General, which was put up before Hon'ble the Chief Justice on 08.05.2020 and as directed, the same has been listed before this Division Bench today.

We have perused the file and have heard Mr. Rahul Mehra, Ld. Standing Counsel (Criminal) for Government of NCT of Delhi and Mr. Sandeep Goel, Director General (Prisons).

It has been noticed that for effective implementation of the directions issued by Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in Suo Moto Petition (Civil) W.P. (C) 3080/2020 Page 1 of 3 No.1/2020-In Re: Contagion of COVID-19 Virus in Prisons vide its orders dated 23.03.2020 and 13.04.2020, a High Power Committee (HPC) was constituted by High Court of Delhi to decongest the Jails to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (Novel Corona Virus) and as per the recommendations of this Committee dated 28.03.2020, 07.04.2020 and 18.04.2020 and on the basis of orders in WP (C) No.2945/2020 titled as "Shobha Gupta & Ors. vs. Union of India & Ors.", 2177 Under Trial Prisoners (UTPs) were released on interim bail for a period of 45 days from the date of their respective release.

2. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Senior Government Pleader.

WP(C).8416/19 4

3. The singular contention urged by the learned counsel for the petitioner is that the first respondent had committed a fundamental error in adopting the revised assessed tax of the year 2007-08 as the basis for revising the assessment and refixing the compounded tax liability for the years 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11. In support of this contention, attention is drawn to Section 7(b) of the KGST Act and reliance is placed on the decisions in Sicilia Hotel Pvt. Ltd (Supra), and Kalyan Tourist Home v. State of Kerala (2017 (2) KLT 761).

4. Opposing the contentions, the learned Government Pleader would submit that, the power for revising the assessment after payment of compounded tax under Section 7(b) cannot be limited to be based only on the tax payable as conceded in the return or accounts or the turnover tax paid for any of the previous consecutive three years. It is contended that there is no inhibition in Section 7 that revision of assessment cannot be on the basis of assessed tax. It is submitted that this position has been succinctly laid down by the Division Bench in Kalika Hotel and Bar, Amballur(M/s) v. State of Kerala (2012 (3) KHC 85) and The Commercial Tax Officer v. M/s Hotel Breezeland Ltd. (2019 (2) KLT 432).

Income Tax Appeal Nos. 135/2019 & 146/2019 are filed challenging a common order passed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Cochin Bench in ITA Nos.536/Coch/2018 and 537/Coch/2018, dated 12-03-2019. Income Tax Appeal No.313/2019 is filed against the revised order passed by the same Tribunal ITA No.537/Coch/2018, dated 11-10-2019. The assessee was the appellant before the Tribunal, who is the appellant herein. The revenue is the respondent.

2. Appellant is a company registered under the Companies Act, engaged in wholesale and retail trade of beaverages within the State of Kerala, and is a 'State Government Undertaking' falling within the 'Explanation' provided under Section 40 (a) (iib) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act' for short). With respect to I.T. Appeal Nos. 135, 146 & 313/2019 -5- the assessment year 2014-2015, the Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax, Circle-2 (1), Thiruvananthapuram finalized the assessment of income tax against the appellant, under Section 143 (3) of the Act, through the order of assessment dated 14- 12-2016. But, the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, Thiruvananthapuram initiated proceedings under Section 263 of the Act and set aside the order of assessment, on holding that the same is erroneous and is prejudicial to the interest of the revenue, to the extent it failed to disallow the debits made in the Profit and Loss Account of the assessee with respect to the amount of surcharge on sales tax and turn over tax paid to the State Government, which ought to have been disallowed under Section 40 (a) (iib) of the Act. Against order of the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, issued under Section 263 of the Act, dated 25-09-2018, the appellant approached the Tribunal in ITA No.536/Coch/2018.

2. Pursuant to the decision of the Government of Kerala to apply part of the proceeds of the financial aid received from the World Bank through the Government of India for execution of the work, namely "KSTP-II -Upgrading Punalur to Ponkunnam Road (SH 8) Package 8A: Km 0+000 (Punalur) to KM 29+840 (Konni)"(the Work), the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP), the Consultant Engineer of the Government of Kerala for the World Bank aided projects, invited bids for construction and completion of the Work. Ext.P1 is the procurement notice issued by KSTP in this connection. It is specified in Ext.P1 notice that the bidding will be conducted in accordance with the Wpc nos.26853 & 31556 of 2019 6 procedures prescribed in the Guidelines issued by the World Bank for procurement under IBRD loans and IDA credits (current edition) and it will be open to all eligible bidders as defined in the said Guidelines to participate in the bidding process. In terms of the Invitation to Bid (ITB) published in this regard by KSTP, the prospective bidders could be individuals or joint ventures and they were to submit technical as also financial bids.

"That CISF No.902292498 Constable K. Lakshmanan of CISF Unit, NMPT Mangalore was W.P.(C) No. 28322 of 2015 4 detailed for B' Shift duty on 29.05.2009 from 1300 hrs to 2100 hrs along with No.721370091 HC/GD K. Sreedharan at K.K. Gate-Out. Shri K. Korappan, AC, CISF Unit NMPT Mangalore, while carrying out surprise checking at 2055 hours on 29.05.2009 along with SI/Exe R.R. Singh, In-charge(CIW), Shri K. Korappan directed to SI/Exe R.R. Singh to conduct pocket checking of B' shift duty personnel deployed at K.K. Gate. Accordingly SI/Exe R.R. Singh conducted pocket checking of Constable K.Lakshmanan in presence of No. 753460102 ASI/Exe P.K. Thampy, In-charge, KK Gate and No.773430028 HC/GD Kuttan Pillai K.K., Main Gate-In and found an illegal money of Rs.1573/- (Rupees one thousand five hundred seventy three only) in possession of Constable K. Lakshmanan in various denominations and the amount was seized which was kept hidden between his belt and waist. When asked by Shri K. Korappan as to where the money came from and why he kept such huge amount with him, Constable K. Lakshmanan did not give any satisfactory reply. Immediately a seizure list was prepared wherein signature of witnesses were obtained. In this regard, a GD has been made at Sl. No.1324 at 2117 hours on 29- 05-09 at KK Gate. As per Unit standing instructions, duty personnel are not allowed to keep more than Rs.10/- for refreshment purpose during duty hours.

2. Alleging non compliance of the award, the 2nd respondent filed a claim petition before the Labour Court, Ernakulam as C.P. No.9 of 2016 WP(C).No.40468/2018 3 claiming a total sum of Rs.12,39,802.02/- which includes interest of Rs.4,84,600/-. The said claim petition was partly allowed by the Labour Court and the 2nd respondent was awarded a sum of Rs.7,55,202.02/- by excluding the interest which was claimed. Being aggrieved by the quantum of amount awarded and the denial of interest, the 2 nd respondent filed W.P.(C) No.33527 of 2017 which is pending before this Court. The petitioner is stated to have remitted a sum of Rs.7,55,202/- as ordered by the Labour Court.

संसदीय कार्य मंत्रालय में राज्य मंत्री तथा भारी उद्योग और लोक उद्यम मंत्रालय में राज्य मंत्री (श्री अर्जुन राम मेघवाल): सभापति महोदया, हम एग्रीकल्चर के विषय पर नियम 193 की चर्चा दो-तीन दिनों से लगा रहे हैं । मैं आपसे अनुरोध करना चाहूंगा कि उसको पहले ले लिया जाए, क्योंकि वित्त मंत्री जी दूसरे हाउस में टैक्सेशन लॉ में बिजी है, इसलिए इसके बाद उस विषय को ले लिया जाए ।

माननीय सभापति: ठीक है, नियम 193 के अधीन चर्चा शुरू की जाए ।

       श्री कोडिकुन्नील सुरेश जी ।

SHRI KODIKUNNIL SURESH (MAVELIKKARA): Hon. Chairperson, thank you for giving me this opportunity to raise a discussion under Rule 193 on the topic `Crop loss due to various reasons and its impact on farmers’. At the outset I would like to submit that the Government has no intent, desire, and genuine concern towards addressing the issues of farmers in the country. The notice I gave for this discussion read -- `Agrarian crisis and farmers’ distress’. The Government did not accept the language in which I submitted my notice for this discussion, instead have formulated the language for the discussion in another way. The Government chose to ignore the topic that would have exposed the failure of the BJP Government to the public. The Government formulated another language which read -- `Crop loss due to various reasons and its impact on farmers’. They have not chosen the straight path but instead have taken a circuitous route to deviate from the core issue. But this anti-farmer and anti-agriculturist attitude of the BJP Government thus stands exposed in this House as the Modi Government is afraid of facing the truth of deeply disturbing agrarian crisis engulfing the country by refusing to address the real concern. The Congress and other like-minded parties decided to raise this issue in this august House.

“ कि यह सभा 05 दिसंबर, 2019 को सभा में प्रस्तुत कार्य मंत्रणा समिति के ग्यारहवें प्रतिवेदन से सहमत है ।” माननीय अध्यक्ष : प्रश्न यह है :

“ कि सभा 05 दिसंबर, 2019 को सभा में प्रस्तुत कार्य मंत्रणा समिति के ग्यारहवें प्रतिवेदन से सहमत है । ” प्रस्ताव स्वीकृत हुआ ।

SHRI BALUBHAU ALIAS SURESH NARAYAN DHANORKAR (CHANDRAPUR): I beg to present the following Reports (Hindi and English versions) of the Standing Committee on Coal and Steel :-

(i)                 Third Report on 'Demands for Grants (2019-20)' pertaining to the Ministry of Coal.

(ii)               Fourth Report on 'Demands for Grants (2019-20)' pertaining to the Ministry of Mines.

(iii)              Fifth Report on 'Demands for Grants (2019-20)' pertaining to the Ministry of Steel.

SHRIMATI ANUPRIYA PATEL (MIRZAPUR): I beg to present the following Reports (Hindi and English versions) of the Standing Committee on Energy (2019-20) :-

(i)                 1st Report on Demands for Grants relating to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for the year 2019-20.

(ii)               2nd Report on Demands for Grants relating to the Ministry of Power for the year 2019-20.

SHRI ADHIR RANJAN CHOWDHURY (BAHARAMPUR): Sir, I beg to present the following Reports (Hindi and English versions) of the Public Accounts Committee (2019-20):-

(1) 1st Report on ‘Revision of ceilings for Exception Reporting in Appropriation Accounts’.

(2) 2nd Report on Action taken by the Government on the Observations/Recommendations of the Committee contained in their 95th Report (16th Lok Sabha) on ‘Health and Family Welfare’.

(3) 3rd Report on Action taken by the Government on the Observations /Recommendations of the Committee contained in their 103rd Report (16th Lok Sabha) on ‘Assessment of Entities Engaged in Health & Allied Sector’.

माननीय अध्यक्ष: माननीय सदस्यगण,मुझे कुछ विषयों पर माननीय सदस्यों के स्थगन-प्रस्ताव की सूचनाएं प्राप्त हुई हैं । मैंने किसी भी स्थगन-प्रस्ताव की सूचना को अनुमति प्रदान नहीं की है ।

__________  

माननीय अध्यक्ष: माननीय सदस्यगण, अब हम सत्रहवीं लोक सभा के दूसरे सत्र की समाप्ति की ओर आ गए हैं, जो 18 नवम्बर, 2019 को आरंभ हुआ था। अब तक, हम 20 बैठकें कर चुके हैं जो 130 घंटे 45 मिनट तक चलीं। 18 नवम्बर, 2019 को चार नए सदस्यों ने शपथ ली अथवा प्रतिज्ञान किया।

…(व्यवधान)

माननीय अध्यक्ष : इस सत्र में महत्वपूर्ण वित्तीय, विधायी और अन्य कार्यों का भी निपटान हुआ। वर्ष 2019-20 के लिए अनुदानों की अनुपूरक मांगों (सामान्य) पर चर्चा 5 घंटे 5 मिनट तक चली। वर्तमान सत्र के दौरान 18 सरकारी विधेयक पुर:स्थापित हुए। कुल मिलाकर 14 विधेयक पारित हुए। 140 तारांकित प्रश्नों के मौखिक उत्तर दिए गए। औसतन प्रतिदिन लगभग 7.36 प्रश्नों के उत्तर दिए गए। इसके अतिरिक्त औसतन प्रतिदिन 20.42 अनुपूरक प्रश्नों के उत्तर दिये गए। 27 नवम्बर, 2019 को सभी 20 तारांकित प्रश्न लिये गए।

Ordered accordingly.

(RAJESH BINDAL) JUDGE Jammu 05.05.2020 Paramjeet Whether the order is speaking: Yes/No. Whether the order is reportable: Yes/No.

PARAMJEET SINGH 2020.05.06 14:02 I am approving this document

2

She files affidavit of service to show copy of the application was served on Chief Law Officer, Legal Cell, Kolkata Municipal Corporation. It be kept with records.

The writ petition has been listed along with the application. Sum and substance of applicant's submission is that she fears being dispossessed. In that context Court has perused letter dated 14th June, 2018, written on behalf of petitioners and communication dated 18th July, 2018, impugned in the writ petition, appearing respectively at pages 67 and 71. It appears, by impugned communication, made in reference to said letter dated 14th June, 2018, assessee number of premises occupied by, inter alia, applicant, has been automatically cancelled on amalgamation of premises.

2

3. It is submitted by learned counsel for the petitioners that although only one of the companies was alleged to have committed default, the DIN of the petitioners was deactivated in respect of the other companies, in which they were directors, as well, which was de hors the law.

4. Moreover, even in respect of the defaulting company, the DIN of the petitioners could not be deactivated without giving an opportunity of hearing to the petitioners on the allegations made against them in respect of each company.

5. The disqualification of the company‐in‐question took place in the year 2014, that is, prior to the 2018 Amendment of the Companies Act, 2013 (hereinafter referred to as "the 2013 Act") and as such, the provisions of the 2018 Amendment would not be applicable thereto.

In such view of the matter, a strong prima facie case has been made out by the petitioners as to the fixation of dates and time for the general election being mala fide on the part of the respondent no. 4 authorities. The balance of convenience and inconvenience in favour of granting such injunction, since if the election is held and a newly elected body assumes power, the writ petition would be infructuous; on the other hand, in the event the writ petition fails, another date can be fixed for such election, if necessary upon imposition of compensatory costs being awarded against the petitioners.

Although there is a notification of this Court requesting Judges not to take up matters for hearing in the absence of all the parties, since sufficient notice 3 has been given to the respondents and in view of the extreme urgency involved in the matter, the matter is taken up for hearing.

PRIYAMBADA DEVI BIRLA AND BIRLA CABLES LTD.

VS.

ARVIND KUMAR NEWAR & ORS.

.................

APO NO.17 OF 2019 APOT NO.138 OF 2019 GA NO.1735 OF 2019 TS NO.6 OF 2004 IN THE GOODS OF:

PRIYAMBADA DEVI BIRLA AND VINDHYA TELELINKS LTD.

VS.

ARVIND KUMAR NEWAR & ORS.

..............

2

PRESENT :

THE HON'BLE JUSTICE DR.SAMBUDDHA CHAKRABORTY AND THE HON'BLE JUSTICE ARINDAM MUKHERJEE Heard on : 04.02.2020, 11.02.2020, 13.02.2020, 18.02.2020 & 20.02.2020.

The dispute in this appeal relates to valuation under the Customs Act, 1962 of import of certain items made by the respondent Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) under two contracts, bearing nos. PUR/PC/MOD/08.01/Pt.II dated 31.10.1989 and PUR/PC/MOD/08.01/Pt-I dated 29th March 1990. These imports were made in connection with modernisation, expansion and modification 1 for their plant at Durgapur in West Bengal. For this purpose, SAIL had floated seven Global Tender Contract Packages. The two contracts were part of these Tender Contract Packages. They were registered with the customs authorities for the purpose of project import benefits in terms of the 1962 Act. The first contract involved in this appeal was with a consortium consisting of a German Company, Hoestemberghe & Kluisch, GMBH and H & K Rolling Mills Engineering Private Limited, an Indian Corporate entity. The second contract was also with a German Company, Siempelkamp Pressen Systeme and the Indian entity was Escon Consultants Private Ltd, with whom the consortium was formed. Both these contracts were in connection with modernisation of SAIL’s rolling mills at the aforesaid plant.

1. Most of the cases have a chequered history. Initially, petitioners have questioned four notifications ­ two notifications dated 21.12.2010 issued by Medical Council of India (for short, ‘the MCI’) and other two notifications dated 31.5.2012, issued by Dental Council of India (for short, ‘the DCI’). The MCI by virtue of Regulations on Graduate Medical Education (Amendment) 2010, (Part II) notified by the Government of India, amended the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997. Similarly, the other notification issued by MCI called “Post­Graduate Medical Education (Amendment) Regulation, 2010 (Part­II)” to amend the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000. The regulations came into force on their publication in the Official Gazette. The other two notifications dated 31.5.2012 issued by DCI were relating to admission in the BDS and MDS courses.

1. Leave granted.

2. This appeal arises out of the final judgment and order dated 14.12.2018 passed by the High Court1 in Writ Petition (Civil) No.2730 of 2018 preferred by the appellant herein.

3. The facts leading to the filing of this appeal, in brief, are as under:-

1

High Court of Delhi at New Delhi CIVIL APPEAL NO. 2377 OF 2020 (@ SLP (C) NO.1169 OF 2019) VODAFONE IDEA LTD (EARLIER KNOWN AS VODAFONE MOBILE SERVICES LIMITED) VS. ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX CIRCLE 26 (2) & ANR.) 2 A] The appellant-Vodafone Idea Ltd. (earlier known as Vodafone Mobile Services Ltd or VMSL for short) is engaged in providing telecommunication services in different circles.

1. Leave granted.

2. In this appeal the Original Claimant challenges the final judgment and order dated 14.02.2019 passed by the High Court at Calcutta in CAN No.10094 of 2018.

3. The basic facts culled out from the award dated 24.03.2015 passed by the Arbitrator in the present case are:-

“That the respondent company who is engaged in the business of infrastructure development activities approached the claimant company who is also dealing in the business of providing equipments for 2 Civil Appeal No.2378 of 2020 (arising out of SLP (C) NO.11011 of 2019) QUIPPO CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT LTD. Vs. JANARDAN NIRMAN PVT. LTD.

1. Special leave granted. The parties were heard, with consent of their counsel.

2. These appeals are directed against a common judgment in LPA No. 1200/2013 (in CWJC No. 3640/2013), LPA No. 1170/2013 (in CWJC No. 3740/2013), LPA No. Signature Not Verified 1174/2013 (in CWJC No. 4265/2013) and LPA No. 1352/2013 in CWJC No. 3640/2013) of the Patna High Court, dated 24.06.2015. Digitally signed by DEEPAK SINGH Date: 2020.05.06

3. One set of appeals (arising from SLP(C) Nos. 23202-23204/2015) has 16:03:11 IST Reason:

been preferred by the Bihar Staff Selection Commission (hereafter “BSSC”) and 2 the other set (referred to as “the aggrieved party appellants”) by several aggrieved parties, who were appellants before the Division Bench of the High Court, in four intra-court appeals, which had questioned the judgment and order of a learned single judge. The single judge set aside the results of the main examination, with consequential directions to the BSSC to prepare fresh results of the Graduate Level Combined Examination-2010, in accordance with the directions of the Court in relation to deletion/modification of questions and answers as stipulated in the judgment. The aggrieved party appellants were not party to the writ proceedings, but had been declared selected in terms of the results first published, and subsequently were shown as not qualified under the revised results pursuant to the directions of the Court by the learned single judge. Three appeals to the Division Bench were by candidates who were writ petitioners and had impugned the judgment of the single judge in not granting them full relief in respect of all questions that were challenged. These parties were not selected in the final results declared.

1. Leave granted.

2. The moot question in this appeal emanating from the judgment and order dated 19.11.2018 in Writ Petition No. 39418/2018 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad for the State of Telangana and the State of Andhra Pradesh1 is: whether the High Court in exercise of its writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India ought Signature Not Verified Digitally signed by to entertain a challenge to the assessment order on the sole DEEPAK SINGH Date: 2020.05.06 16:03:16 IST Reason:

1 For short, “the High Court” 2 ground that the statutory remedy of appeal against that order stood foreclosed by the law of limitation?

1. Leave granted.

2. This appeal takes exception to the judgment and order dated 23.2.2017 passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Patna1 in Letters Patent Appeal (LPA) No. 310/2009, whereby, the LPA filed by the appellants came to be dismissed while affirming the decision of the learned single Judge, dated 10.2.2009 in allowing the Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case (CWJC) No. 867/1999.

Signature Not Verified Digitally signed by DEEPAK SINGH Date: 2020.05.06 16:03:08 IST Reason:

1 For short, “the High Court” 2

3. The Division Bench took note of the relevant background facts necessitating filing of writ petition by the respondent No. 1 for a direction to the appellant­Bank to pay his lawful admitted claims in terms of agreement dated 27.5.1990 (Annexure 5(b) appended to the writ petition) and also to deposit the income­tax papers with immediate effect. The Division Bench has noted as follows: ­ “4. The facts of the case is that the writ petitioner had taken a term loan of Rs.10,000/­ from the Bank by way of financial assistance to run a business in the name of “Sanjeev Readymade Store” from Haveli Kharagpur Branch of Punjab National Bank in the district of Munger. The writ petitioner was paid the said sum of Rs.10,000/­ in two instalments of Rs.4,000/­ on 21.07.1984 and Rs.6,000/­ on 01.10.1984. The writ petitioner had yet another savings account in the same branch of the respondents­bank. However, on 14.02.1990, the term loan with interest had mounted upto a figure of Rs.13,386/­. In 1989, the writ petitioner, who is Respondent no. 2 in the appeal, was granted two cheques of Rs.5,000/­ each by the Circle Officer, Haveli Kharagpur under the Earthquake Relief Fund. The said two cheques were deposited with the Bank for encashment in the other savings account, but instead, were transferred to the loan account. This was done without any authorization of the writ petitioner and without direction of any competent authority. Some time thereafter, the writ petitioner’s son was afflicted by cancer, which required immediate treatment at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. In order to meet the expenses of the treatment, writ petitioner sold 406 bhars of gold jewellery of his wife’s “stridhan” and received Rs.14,93,268/­. He approached the branch of the respondents­bank with a sum of Rs.14,93,000/­ on 04.08.1989 for issuance of two bank drafts, one in his name and the another in the name of his wife. The then Accountant, Mr. T.K. Palit showed his inability to prepare the drafts on the ground of shortage of staff on that day and requested the writ petitioner to deposit the amount in the savings account No. 1020 in the said 3 branch. The Accountant, after receipt of the money, transferred total amount of Rs.15,03,000/­ to the loan account, whereas in the loan account upto 14.02.1990 outstanding dues of principal and interest was only Rs.13,386/­. The writ petition made grievance before the Branch Manager of the said branch and also filed representations before the Bank authorities. Thereafter, the writ petitioner approached the District Magistrate, Sri Nanhe Prasad, who ordered the then Circle Officer, Haveli Kharagpur, District Munger, Sri Binod Kumar Singh to make a detailed enquiry into the matter and report. Accordingly, a Misc. Case No. 4 (DW 1) PNB/1989­90 was initiated and in those proceedings, various officials of the Punjab National Bank, including the then Branch Manager, District Coordination Officer of the Punjab National Bank and the Accountant of the Bank were examined from time to time and reports were submitted to the District Magistrate, Munger. Several witnesses were examined even by the District Magistrate, Munger. There were officers from the Regional Office of the Punjab National Bank, one of them being Sri Tej Narain Singh, the Regional Manager of the Punjab National Bank, Regional Office, Patna­B also deposed making reference of what had transpired to the Zonal Office of the Bank. On the basis of these statements, which were recorded by the Circle Officer and / or by the then District Magistrate­cum­Collector, Munger, Sri Gorelal Prasad Yadav, the matter proceeded. The basic assertion of the writ petitioner having been found correct and the liability having been accepted by the respondents­bank, it was reduced to an agreement dated 27.05.1990, which is Annexure­5B to the writ application between the parties. The agreement was signed by one and all in presence of the Circle Officer and the overall supervision of the District Magistrate. It was duly recorded in writing that the bank had received the deposit amounting to Rs.15,03,000/­ as per deposits made on 02.08.1989, 04.08.1989 and 04.10.1989. It was also recorded that the total term loan and the liability of the writ petitioner up to 14.02.1990 came to Rs.13,386/­ only and the amount of Rs. 14,89,614/­ of the writ petitioner would be kept in the Fixed Deposit of the bank and shall be paid with interest by September, 1997. The writ application was filed, when the bank refused to honour this agreement. In support of the writ application, certified copies of the entire proceedings, depositions as had been obtained by the writ petitioner in the year 1990 were annexed.” 4 The appellant­Bank contested the said writ petition and raised objections regarding the maintainability of the writ petition and disputed the money claim set up by the respondent No. 1 on the basis of alleged contractual agreement dated 27.5.1990. The appellant­Bank denied the allegation of transfer of proceeds of two cheques of Rs.5,000/­ (Rupees five thousand only) each, allegedly received by the respondent No. 1 from the district authorities, to the loan account. The Bank also denied the allegation of deposit of Rs.14,93,000/­ (Rupees fourteen lakhs ninety­three thousand only) by the respondent No. 1 in his Savings Fund Account No. 1020 or transfer of the said amount in his loan account. Further, on receipt of complaint from the respondent No. 1, the Regional Manager of the appellant­Bank instituted an internal enquiry conducted by Mr. N.K. Singh, Manager, Inspection and Complaints, E.M.O., Patna, who in his report dated 23.11.1998 noted that the respondent No. 1 had been paid the proceeds of two cheques of Rs.5,000/­ (Rupees five thousand only) each in cash and there is no record about the deposit of Rs.14,93,000/­ (Rupees fourteen lakhs ninety three thousand only) in his account with the concerned Branch. The appellant­Bank explicitly denied the genuineness and existence 5 of the documents annexed to the writ petition and asserted that the same are forged, fabricated and manufactured documents. The Bank also placed on record that the respondent No. 1 had filed similar writ petition against another bank, namely, the Munger Jamui Central Cooperative Bank Limited being CWJC No. 4353/1993, which was eventually dismissed on 7/3.7.1995, as the claim set up by the respondent No. 1 herein in the said writ petition was stoutly disputed by the concerned Bank.

1. All the four writ petitions seek identical relief in the nature of a writ of Mandamus directing the respondents to permit the petitioners to avail input tax credit of the accumulated CENVAT credit as of 30th June, 2017 by filing declaration Form TRAN-1 beyond the period provided under the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 (hereinafter, the "CGST Rules"). Additionally, petitioners also assail Rule 117 of the CGST Rules on the ground that it is arbitrary, unconstitutional and violative of Article 14 to the extent it imposes a time limit for carrying forward the CENVAT credit to the GST regime. However, all the petitioners have unanimously stated that if the Court were to give directions to the respondents to permit them to file the statutory Form TRAN-1 to avail the input tax credit, they would be satisfied and not press for the relief of challenging the vires of the provisions of the Act.

1. By way of thisjudgement, weshall dispose of the above-noted appeals preferred against the common order dated 19.03.2018, whereby Appellant's (VIPL) objection petitionsunder Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, (hereinafter 'the Act')have been rejected, and common arbitral award dated 20.05.2017 stands confirmed.This impugned arbitralaward deals with two separate claim petitions preferred by the Appellant relating to respective Space Buyer Agreements(hereinafter 'arbitration agreements')concerning separate portions of same property. Since the objection petitions have been disposed of vide a common judgment, wealso consider it convenient to dispose of theappeals vide a common judgement.

1. The matter has been heard through Video Conferencing.

2. Ms. Acharya, learned ASG, who appears for the Union of India, states that her briefing counsel, Mr. Gogna, CGSC is ready with advance instructions.

3. After addressing arguments on the maintainability of the present petition particularly, on the aspect of the alleged retrospectivity of the impugned Notification, Mr. Aggarwal, learned counsel for the petitioner had sought some time to obtain instructions from his client. The hearing was deferred to enable him to obtain instructions. He has returned with instructions to the effect that his client does not wish to press the present petition.

W.P. (C) 3057/2020 Page 1 of 2

W.P.(C) 3062/2020

1. The present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been listed before this Bench by the Registry in view of the urgency expressed therein.

2. The writ petition has been heard by way of video conferencing.

3. Present public interest litigation has been filed seeking a direction to the respondents to a mandate that the travellers of Delhi Metro Rail should provide proof of their identities and addresses while purchasing Metro cards from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.

W.P.(C) 3062/2020 Page 1 of 2

4. Petitioners, who appear in person, state that Delhi Metro Rail Corporation issues digital Metro cards or tokens (digital monies) to its customers, who in turn use it as travel coupons. They state that linking of Metro card and token with the address proof of the travellers would protect the right to property, in the event, the Metro card or token is lost. They further state that in the wake of ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is of utmost importance that the respondents should be aware about the details of the passengers travelling by Delhi Metro as it would help in preventing a patient from travelling and would also help in tracing the affected travellers in case a patient had unwillingly travelled in Delhi Metro.

1. The present public interest litigation under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been listed before this Bench by the Registry in view of the urgency expressed therein.

2. The writ petition has been heard by way of video conferencing.

3. Present public interest litigation has been filed seeking a number of directions. The prayer clause is reproduced hereinbelow:-

W.P.(C) 3068/2020 Page 1 of 8

"a) the respondent no.1 (Union of India) be directed to stop respondent no.2 (Govt. of Haryana) from doing all these restriction activities in violation of their orders dated 15.04.2020;

CM(M) 769/2018 with CM APPL. 27219/2018

1. Petitioner impugns order dated 18.04.2018 whereby the Trial Court has rejected the preliminary objection raised by the Petitioner that the petition filed by the Respondent under section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter called the Arbitration Act) impugning award dated 14.07.2016 was liable to be dismissed because Respondent had not deposited 75% of the awarded amount as stipulated in Section 19 of the Micro, Small and Medium CM(M) 769/2018 Page 1 of 16 Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (hereinafter referred to as the MSMED Act).

2. Respondents had issued a Tender Enquiry for procuring Cover Water Proof 9.1 M x 9.1 M. The bid of the Petitioner was accepted by the Respondents and contract dated 05.04.2005 was entered between the parties.

The petition is being filed by the petitioner and challenge is being made to the order dated 04.03.2020, whereby the petitioner is directed to retire on completion of 62 years of age. It is submitted that the petitioner is a Physical Instructor and is equivalent to Teacher as has been held by the Full Bench of this Court in the case of State of M.P. & Others Vs. Yugal Kishore Sharma, in W.A.No.613/2016. Petitioner has placed reliance upon the Clause F of Regulation 8 of Ministry of Human Resources and Development Department as under :-

"(f) Age of Superannuation :- (i) In order to meet the situation arising out of

shortage of teachers in universities and other teaching institutions and the consequent vacant positions therein, the age of superannuation for teacher in Central Education Institution has already 2 HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH WP.No.7385/2020 (Gopal Prasad Shivhare Vs. Union of India & Others) been enhanced to sixty five years, vide the Department of Higher Education letter No. F.No.1- 19/2006-U.II dated 23.03.2007, for those involved in class room teaching in order to attract eligible persons to the teaching career and to retain teachers in service for a longer period. Consequent on upward revision of the age of superannuation of teachers, the Central Government has already authorized the Central Universities, vide Department of Higher Education D.O. Letter No.F.1-24/2006-Desk(U) dated 30-03-2007 to enhance the age of superannuation of vice- Chancellors of Central Universities from 65 years to 70 years, subject to amendments in the respective statutes, with the approval of the competent authority (Visitor in the case of Central Universities).

1. "Whether Mr. Maghesh Kumar Singh was posted by NTPC Ltd to Meja Urja Nigam Pvt. Ltd at Corporate office, Allahabad and site office Meja.

2. Whether he suffered a finger crush injury on 26-10-2013 while living in Meja Srijan Vihar Township. If yes, name of the hospital he was admitted to and surgery performed may be furnished.

3. Whether he filed a personal accident claim form in this regard. If yes; the amount for which it was sanctioned and the payment transaction details may kindly be furnished.

Page 1 of 8

4. If the above mentioned claim remains pending since 2013, reason for the same may be intimated. If any official found negligent, the action taken against him may also be intimated."

1. "The attested copy of the very basis of the seniority list of 594 contractor's workers at BTPS as was published on notice board, the Appendix 'D' of Letter no. BT/DGM(Admn)/2/I-842 dt. 22-05-1998.

2. If there is no basis of preparing the aforesaid seniority list, then why the names of other persons were enlisted in the Appendix 'D' of the aforesaid letter."

2. The CPIO responded on 01-03-2018 & 16-05-2018. The appellant filed the first appeal dated 12-03-2018 which was disposed of by the first appellate authority on 19-04-2018. Thereafter, he filed a second appeal u/Section 19(3) of the RTI Act before the Commission requesting to take appropriate legal action against the CPIO u/Section 20 of the RTI Act, 2005 and also to direct him to provide the sought for information.

James Maddison put his untamed lockdown hairstyle on display as he thanked Leicester fans on Instagram after winning the ePremier League invitational on Saturday. 

The petitioner is permitted to make a representation to the General Manager, Food Corporation of India, Chandigarh within a period of one week from today. The General Manager shall decide the representation by passing a speaking/detailed order by referring to the terms and conditions incorporated in the tender document.

Petition stands disposed of accordingly.

( RAJIV SHARMA ) JUDGE ( HARINDER SINGH SIDHU ) JUDGE May 08, 2020 ndj Whether speaking/reasoned Yes/No Whether reportable Yes/No 1 of 1 ::: Downloaded on - 08-05-2020 20:39:14 :::

Disney keeps remaking its animated classics because they're a proven box-office success.Insider spoke with three former Disney animators who worked on "Beauty and the Beast," "Hercules," "The Lion King," and "Mulan" who shared their thoughts on the adaptations. They were surprised so many of the films they worked on are getting remade, especially the more recent ones from the '90s.None of them were fans of "The Lion King," criticizing the film's lack of emoting and how closely it adhered to the original."I think it's all about the money and growing the company and making the investors and stockholders happy," "Mulan" co-director Tony Bancroft told Insider. Insider also spoke with producers and VFX artists on "Aladdin" and "The Lion King" who pushed back on claims the remakes are simply cash-grabs.If

Disney's live-action "Mulan" is scheduled for release on July 24 after being delayed several months.Insider caught up with Tony Bancroft, codirector of 1998's animated "Mulan," at the film's world premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California in March.Bancroft told Insider he "enjoyed it far more" than he expected and praised director Niki Caro on a job well done."This, to me, is what all these Disney remakes should be," said Bancroft of the film being reminiscent of the original, but being original enough to stand on its own.Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.Early social reactions for Disney's upcoming live-action "Mulan" have been extremely positive. The new film also has the backing of one of the codirectors of the original 1998 animated movie."I really enjoyed it far

ab with 01 CRAN 1583 of 2020 (Via Video Conferencing)

In the matter of : an application for bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure filed on 19.04.2020 in connection with Bally Police Station Case No. 25 of 2018 dated 01.03.2018 under Sections 195(A)/506/509/427/34 of the Indian Penal Code.

And In Re :- Bikash Pandey @ Vikash Pandey @ Vicky ... Petitioner.

Mr. Achin Jana ... For the Petitioner. Mr. R. Roy Chowdhury Mr. T. K. Ghosh Mr. P. Bose ... For the State

ab with 02 CRAN1420 of 2020 (Via Video Conferencing)

In the matter of : an application for bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure filed in connection with Egra P.S. Case No. 194 of 2020 dated 21.03.2020 under Sections 341/354A/427 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.

And In Re :- Laltu Jana ... Petitioner. Sk. Sahjahan Ali ... For the Petitioner. Mr. R. Roy Chowdhury Mr. T. K. Ghosh Mr. P. Bose ... For the State

Sri Barid Baran Roy & ors.

Mr. Anindya Bose.

.....for the petitioner.

Mr. D. Banerjee.

....for the O.P. No. 1 Mr. Arijit Bardhan.

...for the O.P. Nos. 15 & 16.

This matter has been listed at the instance of the learned advocate for the petitioner for extension of an interim order dated December 23, 2019, passed by this Bench. It is contended that all the opposite parties have been served as per the direction of the Court and the affidavit-of-service will be filed before the Regular Bench.

Mr. Bardhan, learned advocate appearing for the opposite parties 15 and 16, is also present via video conference.