India and Russia can now share army bases, ports, and air bases and station up to 3,000 military personnel in each other's territory, as the Indo-Russian Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Agreement (RELOS) - signed between New Delhi and Moscow in February 2025 - has become operational. The pact was signed in Moscow to boost military cooperation and logistics support between India and one of its most reliable allies. The agreement, under which India and Moscow agreed to station five battleships, ten fighter planes and 3,000 soldiers on each other's soil, will remain in effect for 5 years and can be extended, reported the Russian news agency, Sputnik. The bilateral agreement extends India's strategic reach to the Arctic region -- which is fast becoming the global maritime hotspot, as Russia and China have been increasing their presence in the vast maritime wilderness. New Delhi will be able to access the massive ports in Russia's Murmansk and Severomorsk. Moscow is eye...
The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed a plea by the Centre seeking allocation of Rs 5,000 crore out of Rs 24,000 crore deposited by the Sahara group with market regulator Sebi to repay dues of the depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies.
The direction came on an application filed by the Centre in a PIL by a person named Pinak Pani Mohanty, who sought a direction to pay the amount to the depositors who invested in several chit fund companies and Sahara credit firms.
A bench of justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar noted that the amount was lying in the "Sahara-SEBI Refund Account" unutilised.
The top court said the prayer sought in the present application seems to be reasonable and which shall be in the larger public interest and interest of the genuine depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies.
"Out of the total amount of Rs. 24,979.67 crore lying in the 'Sahara-SEBI Refund Account', Rs. 5000 crore be transferred to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies, who, in turn, shall disburse the same against the legitimate dues of the depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies, which shall be paid to the genuine depositors in the most transparent manner and on proper identification," the bench said.
The top court also directed that entire disbursement process will be monitored by former top court judge R Subhash Reddy with the assistance of advocate Gaurav Agarwal, who has been appointed as amicus curiae to assist Justice Reddy as well as the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies.
"The manner and modalities for making the payment is to be worked out by the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies in consultation with Justice Reddy and Agarwal.
"Rs. 15 lakhs per month be paid to Justice R Subhash Reddy, Former Judge of this Court and Rs. five lakhs per month be paid to Gaurav Agarwal, learned Amicus Curiae towards their honorarium," the bench said.
The top court further directed that the amount be paid to the respective genuine depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies not later than nine months from today.
The balance amount thereafter will be again transferred to the Sahara-SEBI refund account, it said.
The Centre had sought money from the SEBI-Sahara Sahara-Sebi escrow account that was formed after the top court in August 2012 directed two Sahara firms -- Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Limited (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing India Corporation Limited (SHICL) -- to refund investors.
from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/UPnRGMD
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