The Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed all the municipal corporations in Maharashtra to file affidavits by October 9 disclosing the names of politicians who are involved in erecting pandals without permission for Ganesh Chaturthi festival beginning Thursday.

Hearing a batch of public interest litigations filed by social activist Mahesh Bedekar and others, a bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka also asked the corporations to issue show cause notice to such illegal pandals.

The municipal bodies were also asked to collect the names and other particulars of the pandal organisers so that action could be taken against them.

During the course of the hearing, the judges were informed that prominent politicians were allegedly involved in erecting such pandals and the civic bodies were reluctant to take action against them as they were influential and would thwart attempts to demolish the structures.

The judges, however, asked the civic bodies to disclose the names of such politicians who are involved in erecting pandals without permission.

Hearing the same matter on Tuesday, the judges had threatened to take contempt action against political parties, trusts and organisations which set up pandals during festivals without securing permission and those who flouted noise pollution rules.

S M Godwarkar, counsel for the petitioners, submitted a report of NGO Awaz Foundation enumerating violations committed by organisers during the recently held ‘Dahi Handi’ festival in Mumbai.

The report said that no action had been initiated against the offenders for noise pollution violation.

Acting on this report, the bench asked the Mumbai Commissioner of Police to look into these alleged violations and file an affidavit about the action taken or proposed to be taken against the offenders.

The bench also asked the police commissioner to hold an inquiry into the functioning of police officers who were given the responsibility of detecting noise pollution violations during the festivals.

If it is found that they have not taken action against the offenders of noise pollution, then action should be taken against these officers, the judges said.

In an effort to end the 97-day-old impasse at FTII, senior BJP leader Madhav Bhandari held informal talks with students’ representatives even as the relay hunger strike by three protesters continued on the crisis-hit campus.

Bhandari, who is also the chief BJP spokesman in Maharashtra, later told, “My visit and talks were in personal capacity during which I tried to find a common meeting ground to end the strike. When there are negotiations to discuss the issues raised, a give and take approach and not a rigid one matters.”

He made it clear that he was exploring a solution in his personal capacity and had no “mandate” by the government to engage with the students.

Meanwhile, three students continued the relay hunger strike in a makeshift pandal on the campus with one of them – Himanshu Shekhar – completing seven days of his fast today.

The students of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) have been boycotting classes bringing academic activity to a standstill to press for their main demand of removal of actor and BJP member Gajendra Chauhan as its chairman, questioning his “credentials, stature and vision” to head the prestigious institute.

Bhandari said he was “hopeful” of resolving the deadlock and appealed to the students to give up their hunger strike as it involved a health risk.

FTII Students’ Association (FSA) leaders Harishankar Nachimuthu and Vikas Urs, who met the BJP leader, told him that they were eager to resolve the stalemate.

They said they were willing for a dialogue with the government to discuss their demands, which also includes creation of a “transparent mechanism” to make appointments on the FTII governing body in the interest of the institution.

The police claimed to have made a breakthrough in the assassination of a cable operator at Ulhasnagar a few days ago after the arrest of a person from Sangli district on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference here today, Joint Commissioner of Police V V Lakshmi Narayana told reporters that it was on September 11, when two unidentified men barged into the office of cable operator Sacchanand Atmram Karira (50) in Ulhasnagar and shot him at point blank range.

Karira died on way to hospital and offences under Section 302 along with the Arms act was registered against unknown assailants.

The police which had formed different teams to nab the killers spotted three people in an autorickshaw at Murbad after the shootout, the police official said.

The police arrested one Nitin Audhade in connection with the killing of the cable operator, the police official said.

Two others have been detained in connection with the offence and their interrogation is on, the police official said.

The police official said that two offences were registered earlier at Ulhasnagar under Section 395, Section 397 and Section 364 of the Indian Penal Code at Ulhasnagar in 2002, besides another offence under Section 3 and Section 25 of the Arms Act at Kurla police station in 2012.

The police is trying to find out who hired killers to liquidate the cable operator, the police official said.

There is no record of the victim having informed the police about any threat to him by anybody earlier demanding ransom, the police official said.

The Bombay High Court issued criminal contempt notice against office-bearers of the Kolhapur Bar Association for taking out a mock funeral procession of retired Chief Justice Mohit Shah and abstaining from work to press their demand for a circuit bench there.

The HC also issued criminal contempt notice against office-bearers of the bar associations of Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri and Satara districts, besides Kolhapur, for going on strike.

The office-bearers and members of the Kolhapur Bar Association had on September 9 taken out a mock funeral procession of Justice Shah, who had retired as Bombay High Court Chief Justice on September 8. The lawyers had also gone on a one-day strike claiming that their demand seeking establishment of a circuit bench in Kolhapur was not fulfilled.

A division bench of justices A S Oka and V L Achliya said even assuming that the lawyers’ demand for a circuit bench is legitimate, it still does not permit them to take law in their own hands.

“Prima facie their conduct of taking out a mock funeral procession of retired Chief Justice Mohit Shah aggravates contempt and gross misconduct. It appears to us that the conduct of the office bearers of those bar associations in calling upon its members to abstain from work amounts to misconduct,” the court said.

“Apart from lowering the dignity of the judicial system, the real victims are the poor litigants who had to suffer as lawyers abstained from work,” the court said.

Besides the members of the Kolhapur Bar Association, lawyers in Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri and Satara districts had also gone on a strike.

“We issue criminal contempt notice against all office bearers of the bar associations of Kolhapur, Sindhudurg district, Ratnagiri and Satara districts. We direct the principal judges of the courts from these districts to issue the notice after ascertaining their names and other details,” the court ordered.

The bench also asked the Maharashtra and Goa Bar Council to look into the matter and take appropriate action. It posted the matter for further hearing on October 9.

Two petitions have been filed before the Bombay High Court seeking an exemption from the ban on slaughter and sale of the meat of bulls/male calves from September 25 to 28 on the occasion of Eid festival.

The division bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka clubbed the two petitions with other PILs challenging the controversial beef ban in Maharashtra. The hearing would be held on September 21.

One of the two petitions filed today seeks a direction to the state government to temporarily suspend provisions banning and penalising the slaughter of bulls/male calves and possession of their meat in amended Maharashtra Preservation of Animals Act.

According to the petitioners Aslam Alamgir Malkani and Ishaque Abdul Aziz Shaikh, the Act violates articles 25 (freedom of religion), 26 (freedom to manage religious affairs) and 29 (protection of interests of minorities) of the Constitution.

The other petition, filed by Huzaifa Electricwala, also challenges the Act and seeks a similar relief.

The policy of hereditary recruitment of sanitary workers would now be applied for the scheduled caste workers other than those belonging to Valmiki-Mehtar community also, Maharashtra government said.

The hereditary recruitment of sanitary workers from Valmiki-Mehtar community would continue, it was decided in the cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis here today, an official statement said.

As per the recommendations of Lad committee, set up in 1972, the government started hiring the heirs of retiring sanitary workers belonging to the Valmiki-Mehtar community.

A petition filed in the Bombay High Court last year had taken exception to this practice. While disposing it off, the court said the government should reconsider the system, as lots of unemployed youth all over the state may also want these jobs.

The official statement said while extending the principle of hereditary employment to sanitary workers from other scheduled castes, the government decided that the hereditary recruitment from Valmiki-Mehtar community should continue.

The cabinet also approved the proposal to elevate the post of chief engineer in Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) to the secretary-level.

The objective was to expedite various infrastructure works to be undertaken by the MSRDC such as the Pune Ring Road, upgradation of Mumbai-Pune expressway, Mumbai-Nagpur super-communication express highway, etc, a PWD official said.

Since its formation in 1996, the MSRDC has constructed 55 flyovers in Mumbai, Bandra-Worli sealink and the Mumbai-Pune expressway.

The Bombay High Court asked the Maharashtra government to consider recycling sewage water so that it can be used for irrigation and non-irrigation purposes in view of the drought situation in the state.

A division bench headed by Justice V M Kanade had earlier raised concerns over the drought situation in Maharashtra and asked the government whether it had a contingency plan in place in view of the steady decline in rainfall in the state for the past few years.

The HC was hearing a petition filed by Solapur-based farmer Siddeshwar Warade seeking direction to the government to release water from Ujani dam for irrigation in Mohol and Mangalwedha talukas of Solapur.

The court was today informed by Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority that it will not be feasible to release water from the Ujani dam at the moment, but the situation will be reviewed at the end of October.

The authority suggested to the court that sewage water should be treated and used for irrigation and non-irrigation purposes so that the water available through rainfall can be used for drinking purposes only.

Taking note of this suggestion, the court said, “Recycling seems to be the only solution. The government should consider this.

“In our view if water is treated and recycled and used for non-irrigation and irrigation purposes, much of the problem can be solved not only in the district of Solapur but in all other districts of Maharashtra,” Justice Kanade said.

The Maharashtra government has launched a Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System (CCTNS) in every police station, with an aim to adopt a paperless working mechanism.

With this system, claimed to be the first such initiative by a state, the police will now be able to register an FIR with a single click.

Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao launched the CCTNS project at a function attended by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) KP Bakshi, Director General of Police Sanjeev Dayal, and other dignitaries.

Addressing the gathering, the Governor said CCTNS was not just for checking the increasing crime graph, but it had the potential to transform the police force and make it more people-friendly.

“The system will help bring transparency in police administration,” he said.

He assured that it would enhance the reputation of the police department as CCTNS project was an affirmative step towards achieving the goal of ‘Digital Maharashtra’.

Proper co-ordination and sharing of data of crimes and criminals will benefit the state and country and help nab repeat offenders. It will lead to accurate investigation of crime and will increase conviction rate, Rao observed.

On challenges for police in 21st century, the Governor said, “We need well-manned, well-equipped, well-trained, modern police force to maintain safety and security of citizens and maintain law and order effectively.”

Chief Minister Fadnavis said on the occasion that the state needed quality policing to maintain law and order. Use of modern techniques will help achieve the goal, he said.

He announced that the state was developing many other applications related to CCTNS to make police people-oriented.

“CCTNS will ease burden on the police,” Fadnavis said.