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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

YouTuber challenges FIR, LoC in HC

Mumbai : The Bombay High Court issued notice to the state government on a petition filed by UK-based medico and YouTuber, Dr. Sangram Patil, seeking to quash a Mumbai Police FIR and revoking a Look Out Circular in a criminal case lodged against him, on Thursday.   Justice Ashwin D. Bhobe, who heard the matter with preliminary submissions from both sides, sought a response from the state government and posted the matter for Feb. 4.   Maharashtra Advocate-General Milind Sathe informed the court...

YouTuber challenges FIR, LoC in HC

Mumbai : The Bombay High Court issued notice to the state government on a petition filed by UK-based medico and YouTuber, Dr. Sangram Patil, seeking to quash a Mumbai Police FIR and revoking a Look Out Circular in a criminal case lodged against him, on Thursday.   Justice Ashwin D. Bhobe, who heard the matter with preliminary submissions from both sides, sought a response from the state government and posted the matter for Feb. 4.   Maharashtra Advocate-General Milind Sathe informed the court that the state would file its reply within a week in the matter.   Indian-origin Dr. Patil, hailing from Jalgaon, is facing a criminal case here for posting allegedly objectionable content involving Bharatiya Janata Party leaders on social media.   After his posts on a FB page, ‘Shehar Vikas Aghadi’, a Mumbai BJP media cell functionary lodged a criminal complaint following which the NM Joshi Marg Police registered a FIR (Dec. 18, 2025) and subsequently issued a LoC against Dr. Patil, restricting his travels.   The complainant Nikhil Bhamre filed the complaint in December 2025, contending that Dr. Patil on Dec. 14 posted offensive content intended to spread ‘disinformation and falsehoods’ about the BJP and its leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.   Among others, the police invoked BNSS Sec. 353(2) that attracts a 3-year jail term for publishing or circulating statements or rumours through electronic media with intent to promote enmity or hatred between communities.   Based on the FIR, Dr. Patil was detained and questioned for 15 hours when he arrived with his wife from London at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (Jan. 10), and again prevented from returning to Manchester, UK on Jan. 19 in view of the ongoing investigations.   On Wednesday (Jan. 21) Dr. Patil recorded his statement before the Mumbai Police and now he has moved the high court. Besides seeking quashing of the FIR and the LoC, he has sought removal of his name from the database imposing restrictions on his international travels.   Through his Senior Advocate Sudeep Pasbola, the medico has sought interim relief in the form of a stay on further probe by Crime Branch-III and coercive action, restraint on filing any charge-sheet during the pendency of the petition and permission to go back to the UK.   Pasbola submitted to the court that Dr. Patil had voluntarily travelled from the UK to India and was unaware of the FIR when he landed here. Sathe argued that Patil had appeared in connection with other posts and was not fully cooperating with the investigators.

Not all projects came to BJP-ruled states: EAM

Updated: Oct 30, 2024

Jaishankar

Mumbai: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday refuted the allegations of investments from Maharashtra shifting to Gujarat, saying investors have their calculations and they will see a performing state government which is capable and efficient.


Not all projects have come to the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states in the last 10 years, Jaishankar said addressing a press conference at the BJP office in Mumbai ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls.


“Competitive federalism is good for the country,” the BJP Rajya Sabha member said.

The India-Middle East Economic Corridor is the most talked about connectivity corridor in the world and the main interface will be in Maharashtra, he said.


Leaders from the opposition parties, including the Congress and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), have often claimed that various big investment projects have been moved from Maharashtra to the neighbouring BJP-ruled Gujarat.


Asked about the opposition’s allegations, Jaishankar said the investors also have their own calculations and assessments.


“They will see a performing state government which is capable and efficient. You can’t blame the Centre but also have to check your own merit. Not all projects have come to BJP-ruled states in the last 10 years,” he said.


The Indian government works on the image and branding of the country at the international level, but it is the state governments which will take decisions for employment and investments to come, Jaishankar said.

“The success of a country depends on positive, effective, sincere partnership from the state governments,” he said.


The minister also said Maharashtra needs a government which is on the same page as the Centre since it is the most industrialised state in the country which will play a key role in achieving the objective of “Viksit Bharat”.


Maharashtra’s contribution in the field of industry, technology, airports, ports is immense and increasing investments, logistics, exports, best practices is important for foreign policy, Jaishankar said.

Along with this, infrastructure development and skilled educational policies are also important, he said.

The Centre’s focus is on boosting the economy and employment, the minister added.

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