Chidambaram's CBI custody in INX Media case to continue till Sep 5, says Supreme Court
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Tuesday said the CBI custody of former finance minister P Chidambaram would continue till September 5 in the INX Media corruption case.
The apex court asked Chidambaram's counsel not to press for the interim bail plea, filed before the trial court on Monday and scheduled to be heard today, till September 5. A bench of justices R Banumathi and A S Bopanna said it would on Thursday hear Chidambaram's plea in which he has challenged the non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued against him as well as the subsequent trial court's orders remanding him in the CBI custody.
While posting the matter for hearing on Thursday, the bench said: "We are conscious that we should not usurp the jurisdiction of the concerned trial court". At the outset, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, moved an application seeking recall of the apex court's Monday order. He said that based on the order, Chidambaram's counsel had moved interim bail plea before the trial court.
Mehta said Chidambaram's counsel pressed before the trial court that the interim bail plea should be decided on Monday itself and the trial judge issued notice to the CBI asking it to file response within 24 hours.
"The matter is listed for hearing today before the trial court at 3.30 pm. Less than 24 hour notice was given to the CBI to respond to the interim bail plea which was filed 13 days after his arrest. This should not be the procedure," he told the bench.
After hearing Mehta's submissions, the bench said the interim bail plea be listed for hearing before the trial court on September 5 and the apex court will hear Chidambaram's plea on that day itself.
"The present status will continue till then. CBI's custody will be extended till day after tomorrow (September 5)," the bench said. Mehta then told the bench: "If we don't take his custody then the law must take its course. We don't need his custody."
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi opposed Mehta's submissions and said that if Chidambaram is sent to jail under judicial custody then his plea pending before the apex court would become infructuous.
Sibal told the bench that they would not press for the interim bail plea before the trial court today and Chidambaram's CBI custody should be extended till September 5.
The bench, while posting Chidambaram's plea for hearing on September 5, said that it would decide the matter on Thursday itself.
The apex court is also scheduled to pronounce its order on September 5 on Chidambaram's separate plea in which he has challenged the August 20 verdict of the Delhi High Court denying him anticipatory bail in the INX Media money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
===================
The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
