Mumbai: A special court for MP/MLA cases that last month accepted the economic offences wing’s closure report in the Rs 25,000-crore Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam case involving the late Ajit Pawar, deputy CM Sunetra Pawar and their nephew Rohit Pawar held in many instances that “no loss was caused to the bank due to allotment of loan” and concluded that “no personal wrongful gain is acquired by the directors”. It held that the accused hatched no criminal conspiracy.Giving relief to Rohit’s company, Baramati Agro, it said the due legal process was followed in the 2012 auction of Kannad Sahakari Sugar Factory. The detailed 127-page common order made available on Monday. The allegations centred on 31 district central cooperative banks under MSCB that granted loans to sugar factories, which later defaulted. It was alleged that the subsequent auctioning of these factories favoured the kin of bank office-bearers. But, special judge Mahesh K Jadhav categorised these as administrative “civil wrongs”, rather than criminal acts. In the case of five of the entities, it was alleged that the MSCB board of directors, including Ajit Pawar, sanctioned illegal loans and provided favourable terms to units in which they had financial or personal interests. The judge said the official statutory reports, the statements of witnesses and documentary evidence do not demonstrate the commission of cognisable offences. “Therefore, all protest petitions, including protest petition of the original complainant, deserve to be rejected and ‘C’ summary report (closure report) is liable to be accepted.” The judge rejected protest petitions from 50 individuals, including social activist Anna Hazare, who had opposed the clean chit. The judge said the available record did not show mens rea (intention to deceive). “Merely because some directions of Nabard are not followed, [it] did not amount to cognisable offence… Mere irregularity or lapses cannot be converted to the offences. There is absence of dishonest or fraudulent intention on the part of the accused. There is absence of dishonest or fraudulent or misappropriation of property for own use which is entrusted with the public servant... There is no document which is called to be a forged one,” the judge noted. The judge found that the directors’ actions were largely influenced by special relief packages like the ‘Mitra package’, designed to support the sugar industry during periods of financial crisis. “There is no evidence which shows that the investigation is negligent. It does not seem to be a tampering evidence or tailored investigation,” the order said. The judge pointed out that the recovery process is ongoing and that Rs 850 crore has been recovered so far, asserting that MSCB “is funding cooperative societies and protecting public money”. On allegations of irregularities against Jarandeshwar Sugar Factory, to which ED had linked Ajit Pawar and Sunetra, the judge observed that the transactions did not constitute a criminal offence. On the allegation that Jai Ambika Sugar Factory was granted a Rs 94.9-crore loan without collateral in meetings that also included Ajit Pawar, the judge observed that a govt guarantee had been obtained years prior and that the bank had actively sought recovery through the cooperative court. The order noted that in the case of Jalna Sugar Factory, the auction generated Rs 42.3 crore, resulting in a surplus of Rs 9 crore over the dues. In the case of Kannad Sahakari Sugar Factory, the loan was declared a secured one and Baramati Agro (the purchaser) was found to be in “sound possession” to pay, it noted.

MUMBAI: A 17-year-old Dubai resident on a visit to Mumbai allegedly hit a scooter with a rental SUV in Chandivli on Sunday night, killing a 15-year-old boy on the pillion, and fled. He was tracked down within hours, apprehended, produced before Juvenile Justice Board and sent to a correctional home till March 27.Sakinaka police said the driver’s family attempted to mislead them by claiming that he had left for Mira Road after the accident, but he was found hiding in a relative’s house in Chandivli itself. Charges were also invoked against a friend, Mohammed Anas Moharramalli Khan (22), an MBBS student who had rented the car for the day, and a notice served to him. “A probe is on to find out his exact role. The next course of action will then be decided,” said a Sakinaka police officer. The victim, Pratik Mane, was rushed to Rajawadi hospital with severe head injuries, where he was declared dead on arrival. The driver arrived in Mumbai last week to celebrate Eid with family members in Sakinaka, said DCP (zone 10) Datta Nalawade. It was unclear where he was headed with the car. Pratik’s brother, Sumit Mane (22), told police that the two had set off from their Chandivli home on a scooter to make some purchases for a wedding in their village later this month. When they reached a housing society on Nahar Amrit Shakti Road a little away from home, an SUV emerged from the gate and rammed into them. The driver sped away. CCTV cameras at the site captured only a partial licence plate. A police team supervised by Nalawade and led by SI Mohan Kotlawar tracked down the car rental agency, got Khan’s details through the documents he submitted there, and traced the route the car took to get to the driver. Pratik’s father, Subhash, is an auto driver and his mother works as a domestic help.Mandeep Singh Makkar, member of Chandivli Citizens Welfare Association, said this was the second such accident on the road and both involved juvenile drivers. He said in Sept 2023, a senior citizen suffered severe spinal fractures after a 14-year-old student hit him with a car. “Due to lack of substantial legal action in the past, no deterrent was established for guardians who permit minors to drive. This recurring negligence has now resulted in the tragic death of a teen. We demand strict legal consequences for car owners who enable this behaviour; otherwise, the safety of every citizen remains at stake.”

Dubai International Airport has temporarily suspended flight operations after a fire broke out close to the airport following a drone-related incident amid rising tensions in Middle Asia. The current disruption has triggered major travel alerts across the region. Dubai Media Office took to X and wrote,“Dubai Airports announces the diversion of some flights from Dubai International Airport (DXB) to Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC).”

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Later the office reported, “Dubai Civil Defence teams have successfully contained the fire resulting from impact to one of the fuel tanks in the vicinity of Dubai International Airport. No injuries have been reported.”

The fire incident The airport authorities have confirmed that a drone struck a fuel tank close to the airport early on 16 March 2026. The incident caused a huge fire and as a precaution, flight operations at the airport were temporarily suspended for the safety of passengers and staff. The Dubai Civil Aviation Authority has also announced that flights were halted while civil defence teams worked to contain the fire. Officials mentioned that its a precautionary move was purely precautionary.

As per current update, fire is under control and authorities confirmed that there were no immediate reports of injuries or casualties.Impact on flights

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The temporary shutdown of Dubai International Airport had an immediate effect on international air travel. A number of flights headed to Dubai were diverted to nearby airports. Some flights were delayed or cancelled amid the fire incident. Emirates suspends Dubai flights Meanwhile Emirates has temporarily suspended flights to and from Dubai, asking passengers not to travel to the airport until further notice. The airline said that the safety of passengers and crew is their top priority.Etihad Airways running limited flightsEtihad Airways has issued a list of limited flight schedules, operating to prime destinations from Abu Dhabi. The airline has listed flights for March 16.What travellers should do nowDo not travel to the airport without a confirmed ticketCheck airline updates closely Flight schedules may change depending on the continuously changing situation in the GulfDubai airport serves as a prime international transit hub connecting Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas. The airport handles millions of passengers both national and international annually, and that’s why even the smallest disruption ends up affecting thousands of travellers across the globe.

Mumbai: Bombay high court on Monday dismissed a petition by two societies representing the Koli community in Danda Koliwada, a fishing village in Khar West, that had challenged a court-appointed committee’s finding that slum redevelopment would not adversely affect their activities.Justices Makarand Karnik and Shriram Modak said the Danda Koli Masemari Vyavasayik Sahakari Maryadit and Danda Koli Samaj’s challenge to the committee’s report as well as reliefs claimed “will necessarily entail a detailed fact-finding exercise requiring assessing/addressing/adducing of evidence.” “Hence… the dispute which the petitioners raised can only be resolved before the competent civil court, and it is not possible for us to examine such dispute in the exercise of writ jurisdiction under Article 226…,” they added.Last year, the societies filed a petition challenging Slum Rehabilitation Authority’s (SRA) declaration of a part of their land—3,449sqm out of 9,588sqm—used for drying fish and related activities as slum rehabilitation area. They contended that their ingress and egress for loading and unloading dry fish would be blocked. HC on Dec 17, 2025, appointed a three-member committee of additional principal secretary, urban development department, the collector (suburbs) and chief executive officer, SRA, to hear the parties and have fresh demarcation of the govt land in accordance with law. The committee’s Feb 24 report stated that there was around 26,000sqm of vacant land available on various plots for traditional business of Koli community with direct access to the main Carter Road. The Koli societies then challenged the committee’s report by filing a fresh petition.Senior advocate Gayatri Singh, for the societies, argued that there is a non-buildable reservation on 3,449 sqm area. Senior advocate Ravi Kadam, for Jasani Realty Pvt Ltd, said there is buildable reservation on it. Advocate Amogh Singh, for Hanuman Nagar CHS, said 161 slumdwellers had vacated and there were no fishing drying activities on the plot.The judges noted that HC in the Dec 2025 order had observed that “the dispute is purely on demarcation as to whether the traditional rights of petitioners are in any manner affected by the slum redevelopment in question”. Hence, they said the dispute can be resolved before a competent civil court. “We, therefore, do not find any merit in the petition and keeping all questions open, the writ petition is dismissed,” they added.The judges allowed a request by Singh for a stay on the order, by continuing the status quo operating from the Dec 17 order, for three weeks.

US President Donald Trump’s call to seven countries to send warships to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open has drawn a negative response from Washington’s allies, putting his plans in jeopardy.

Vital shipping route for global oil trade

While he named China, Britain, France, Japan and South Korea in a social media post on Saturday, urging them to help guard the waterway, the Republican did not identify the seven countries while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday.“I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their own territory,” Trump said.

“We’re talking to countries about policing the straits, because they are the ones — you know, we don’t get oil, very little, 1%. China, for example, gets about 90% of its oil from the Strait of Hormuz. It would be nice to have other countries policing it with us. We’ll help and work with them,” he added.

Crucial for Asian markets

On February 28, the United States and Israel carried out joint strikes in Iran that killed its then-Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, triggering the conflict. In retaliation, Tehran has targeted both Israel and Gulf states hosting US military bases.Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, with its forces continuing attacks on the vital waterway as the war enters its third week.

How Hormuz compares with other waterways

The strait — a narrow passage of water between Iran and Oman — is one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, with about 20% of global oil supply passing through it, resulting in Trump’s call.Who has said whatJapan: Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Monday Japan does not currently plan to dispatch naval vessels to escort ships in the Middle East. “We have not made any decisions whatsoever about dispatching escort ships. We are continuing to examine what Japan can do independently and what can be done within the legal framework,” Takaichi told parliament.She is scheduled to meet Trump in Washington on Thursday.Australia: Catherine King, a minister in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government, told state broadcaster ABC that Australia would not send naval ships to assist in reopening the Strait of Hormuz.“We won’t be sending a ship to the Strait of Hormuz. We know how incredibly important that is, but that’s not something we’re contributing to,” King told ABC.South Korea: According to South Korea’s presidential office, any decision would be made after discussions with Washington.“We will communicate closely with the US regarding this matter and decide after a careful review,” it stated on Sunday.Britain: Prime Minister Keir Starmer has discussed the issue with Trump, a Downing Street spokesperson said, adding that Starmer also spoke with his Canadian counterpart, Mark Carney, and both have agreed to continue talks on Monday.France: While France has not responded publicly, President Emmanuel Macron has previously expressed willingness for the French navy to escort ships, but only if the conflict stabilises. Last week, Macron wrote on social media that he had spoken with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, and told him that Tehran must ensure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and reopen it to shipping. China: China — not a US ally — has not publicly responded to remarks by Donald Trump but has previously called for a cessation of hostilities. Beijing is also the largest buyer of Iranian oil.