The Brave Pedestrian

Mumbai, 30 th August, 2016: To recover its Rs 100 crore project loan to RNA Exotica before it becomes a bad debt like BOI's loan and SBI's loan , Axis Bank is pressing the panic-button and threatening flat-buyers to immediately pre-pay large amounts (like Rs 25-50 lakh), forgetting about slab-completion schedules. Axis Bank has recently written strangely worded letters to RNA's Skyline Construction Co in respect of each and every flat ( see specimen ), saying that unless the entire remaining amount of the flat's consideration is remitted to its designated account, RNA Corp will not be allowed to sell the said flat to the name of the buyer. These letters, which are supposedly "No Objection Certificates" for the sale of flats to the purchasers, are being lovingly forwarded by RNA Corp to the individual flat-buyers with a tiny email ( see example ). Axis Bank's relayed letter is like holding a gun to the heads of helpless flat-buyers and saying: "Pa...

30 th August, 2016, Cuttack: Is it OK if our sitting judges become businessmen? If our judges become hoteliers and owners of dance-bars, etc. while serving, can they maintain judge-like attitude? Can they command the respect and awe of Indian citizens, government and various administrative bodies? These aren't hypothetical questions; JusticeIndrajit Mahanty , a senior judge of Orissa High Court since 2006, became a hotelier in 2009, the proud owner of the The Triple-C Hotel in Cuttack, which boasts a dance-bar . In his own name and from his own bank accounts, Justice I. Mahanty has taken a Rs. 2.5 crore business loan from State Bank of India for this hotel. Although a private limited company named Latest Generation Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. was formed for managing the hotel, the working capital for the hotel was borrowed by (and is being repaid by) Justice Indrajit Mahanty in his personal capacity. For building the ground-plus-four storey building, Justice I. Mahanty in his own...

12 th August, 2016: In today's mumbai Mirror, there's this frontpage story headlined, " Buyers Hire Rock Climbers to Enter Flats that Builder won't Hand Over ". One empathizes with the desperation that triggered a dozen home buyers in Powai's Tej society, a redevelopment project of Shwet Realtors ... but their adventurous act is likely to land them into trouble. Yes, this move succeeded in focusing public attention on the plight of the home owners and the defaults of Shwet Realtors in particular, but nevertheless, the police will probably register an FIR for "House Trespass" and related offences against the home-buyers and the rock-climber, and promptly issue arrest warrants. The fact that the redeveloper delayed possession of the flats for years will not cut ice, because the police or magistrate view the builder's actions as a "civil dispute", and the buyers' actions as a "criminal offence". Bottomline: Our system i...

Paradise contains 72 virgins for Muslim men, but what about Muslim women? The Quranic answer: All the pleasures of Paradise such as kinds of food, beautiful scenes, houses, and clothes, will be equally for men and women. The only thing that is for men alone in Paradise is the Hoor (divine maiden or virgin). Some women may inquire why women are not promised male hoors. The answer seems to be: because women long for adornment and jewels more than they hanker after sexual pleasures ! According to scholar Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, “Allah mentioned the wives of Paradise because men naturally seek them, which is not the case with women. Therefore, Allah did not refer to the husbands of women in Paradise, but this does not mean that they will have no husbands there; rather, they will have human husbands.” It is specified that a woman who died after marriage will be with her husband in Paradise. A woman whose husband died, and she did not remarry until her death, will also ...