| The Madhya Pradesh High Court today entered a final judgment against six petitioners for the appointment of an additional judge to determine the validity of the municipal corporation's 2018 election results. The court also issued an order suspending the issuance of a new electoral roll and ordering the parties to file an emergency motion to halt the publication of the new roll. According to the court's order, filed on December 28, 1978, four of the petitioners presented a petition under Rule 4(1) of the Madhya Pradesh Municipal Corporation Rules, 1963 that was not published under Rule 4(1) of the Rules and directing the respondents to refrain from conducting the poll until the date of publication of the final electoral roll. The complaint alleges that the Collector of Raipur had asked the applicants to appear on October 30, 1978 and that none of the claims or objections were included in the final electoral roll. The complaint further alleges that none of the applicants had any objection with regard to the inclusion of their names in the final roll. The complaint further alleges that the Deputy Collector had directed the applicants to submit their claims and/or objections within 20 days from the date of publication of the final electoral roll. The complaint further alleges that no other claims or objections were preferred after October 19, 1978 before the Deputy Collector granted the request for an interim court order to suspend the filing of the writ petition. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York today announced criminal charges against the four petitioners. The SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charges the four defendants with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The SEC seeks permanent injunctions, civil penalties, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest, and an officer-and-director bar. The SEC's investigation was conducted by V. K. Puri, H. K. Puri, V. K. Bahl and Miss Maya Ra of the New York office. The litigation will be led by Mr. Puri. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. |