Pioneer In Short
RBI tightens noose on Tata sons
The RBI has filed a caveat in the Bombay HC after rejecting Tata Sons’ application to surrender its NBFC registration, ensuring the central bank is heard before any judicial order is passed. The RBI’s rejection of Tata Sons’ March 2024 application means the holding company remains classified as an upper-layer NBFC and is required to list on the stock exchanges. Any legal challenge to the order is likely only after the Tata Sons board meets on Thursday, sources said. The listing has divided shareholders. Tata Trusts, which holds more than 65 per cent of Tata Sons, is reluctant to pursue a listing, while the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, with about 18 per cent, has publicly backed it.
A listing would bring greater transparency to Tata Sons’ operations and expose the group to greater investor scrutiny over capital allocation and returns, experts say. The dispute comes amid leadership tensions at the $170-billion conglomerate. Chairman N Chandrasekaran has opted not to seek reappointment when his term ends in February next year. Tata Sons has assets exceeding Rs 1.75 lakh crore and had undertaken deleveraging and other changes in an effort to avoid mandatory listing.
Court frees man held as Bangladeshi
A 70-year-old daily-wage worker from West Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur district walked out of a detention centre on Tuesday after an Islampur court granted him bail, observing that police had failed to produce conclusive evidence establishing his alleged status as an illegal immigrant. Jalil Akhtar was arrested on June 20 under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act after Dalkhola Police allegedly suspected him of being Bangladeshi. His family said they had produced documents, including a 1967 land deed, to establish his Indian citizenship. The court noted that Akhtar’s Aadhaar and ration cards and his names in consecutive electoral rolls, including the 2026 final rolls, had been verified as genuine. It said there was no material indicating the documents were forged.
The court clarified that it was not determining Akhtar’s citizenship, which must be decided by the competent authority under law.
It rejected indefinite detention merely because he had not produced “conclusive” proof of citizenship and granted bail on a Rs 10,000 bond. TMC MP Samirul Islam criticised what he called police “high-handedness” and questioned the harassment of a poor man on suspicion of being an illegal immigrant.
