| On April 29, 1965, the Allahabad High Court entered a final judgment against five individuals in contempt of court for failing to comply with a court order to stay proceedings pending before the Nyaya Panchayat, Jokha Khas, District Deoria. According to the court's order, filed on December 25, 1963, Mahabir made an application under section 85 of the U.P. Panchayat Raj Act, 1947, alleging that he had been abused and be laboured by his family members and property worth Rs. 40/million. The court held that the defendants had failed to show sufficient evidence to convince the court that they had complied with the court's order. The court further held that Mahabir was not prepared to go to Tehsil as required by the court. The court also found that the defendants had not signed an affidavit confirming or denying the allegations in the application. The court granted the defendants' requests for a temporary restraining order and ordered them to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/ and further ordering that in case of default they shall undergo simple imprisonment for two weeks. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York today announced criminal charges against Mahabir. The SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that Mahabir violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act") and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. Without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint, Mahabir consented to the entry of a final judgment that permanently enjoins him from violating the charged provisions of the federal securities laws, orders him to pay a penalty of $1,000, and bars him from serving as an officer or director of a public company for five years. The settlement is subject to court approval. The SEC's investigation was conducted by R. Chari, M. K. Ramamurthi, Vineet Kumar and Shyamala Pappu. The litigation will be led by Mr. Chari. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern |