The Brave Pedestrian

Mumbai, 24th October, 2018: Yesterday, an open letter physically signed by 174 victims of Bhagtani builders, was sent to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Home Minister Dr Ranjit Patil, and top police authorities. The letter demanded departmental enquiry against investigating officers who avoided filing chargesheets against companies that duped over 2,500 families of their life savings, and decisive actions to bring back the absconding company directors, namely Mukesh and Laxman Bhagtani. We started the campaign for collecting physical signatures on 6th October, and during the next two weeks, copies of the Open Letter were kept for signatures by nine victims at their residences and offices in Mumbai, from Mira Road to Bandra, and Versova to Vikhroli. The letter sent to Chief Minister, Home Minister, Director General of Police and Police Commissioner. Text of the letter sent is reproduced below: To Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister & Home Minister, Ma...

Dear Friends, As you are aware, we have made a huge difference by writing open letters in the past. In November 2017 , we wrote an  open letter to Chief Justice of Bombay High Court , signed by 55 Riyo victims in Borivali National Park. As a result, Justice Badar was restricted from hearing Bhagtani's ABA matter by an order that said, "Not before any bench of which Justice A.M. Badar is a part". In December 2017, we wrote an open l etter to Maharashtra CM  asking why Bhagtanis were still roaming free and enjoying life. This letter had physical signatures collected from 267 Bhagtani victims of different projects. Shortly afterwards, in January 2018, Diipesh Bhagtani was forced to surrender to EOW. Friends, it is time for us to fire again. This time, the open letter has to be about defective chargesheets that the police have filed for Riyo and Serenity , and other projects also.   Let us send this letter to CM, Minister of State for Home, Director Genera...

Mumbai, 6th November, 2017: About 60 victims of Bhagtani builder's Riyo project gathered yesterday (Sunday) at Sanjay Gandhi National Park at Borivali East, to discuss and debate about the way forward in their legal battle for criminal prosecution of Bhagtani and recovery of their money. Many topics were discussed, including approaching various agencies and seeking advice from legal experts. Also, an open letter addressed to Chief Justice Manjula Chellur was signed by 55 aggrieved persons who are intervenors in Anticipatory Bail Application (ABA) hearings being heard by Justice A M Badar. The letter raises serious concerns about Justice Badar's leniency and dubious orders. This gathering of cheated flat-buyers signed an open letter to Chief Justice Manjula Chellur, complaining about Justice A M Badar's dubious orders favouring Bhagtani builders. The signed letter will be dispatched by speedpost later today. Several others, including Chief Justice of India and...

To Justice Manjula Chellur, Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, Through The Registrar Bombay High Court, Fort, Mumbai 5th November, 2017 Sub: Justice Badar's Zigzag Orders in ABA no. 1533 of 2017 Dear Madam, Hundreds of victims of Bhagtani builders are on an anxiety-inducing roller-coaster ride, thanks to the strange twists and turns in proceedings of ABA no. 1533 in Bombay High Court. Seven orders h ave so far been passed -- four by Justice Revati Mohite Dere and three by Justice Badar. The latter's orders are increasingly lenient and devoid of judicial logic. Repeatedly, orders are passed based on unverified claims made by the applicants (Dipesh, Mukesh and Lakshman Bhagtani). A blind eye is turned to total non-compliance of anticipatory bail conditions mentioned in applicant Dipesh Bhagtani's affidavit . The most recent order is a cringe-worthy clean chit to the Bhagtanis for expressing the intention to approach National Corporate Law Tribunal (NCLT)....

Mumbai, 27 th January, 2017: Justice Chinnasamy Swaminathan Karnan of Culcutta High Court and formerly of Madras High Court, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to take action against "high corruption at the judiciary". In his letter dated 23 rd January, 2017, Justice CS Karnan furnished the prime minister with "an initial list of corrupt judges", and in addition, three other officers of Madras High Court, who he implied had detailed knowledge and proof of the corrupt acts of the 20 judges. Justice Karnan asked for all these persons to be "interrogated by the officers of the Central Agencies" – probably referring to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Justice CS Karnan's recent writings and actions have confronted India with huge questions and challenges, namely: a) Is Justice CS Karnan a judge a nutcase – a man with impaired mental functioning? If so, what constitutional safeguards does the nation have to remove him, to ...