Disrespect to national anthem case: Court dismisses complaint against Mamata Banerjee
Mumbai (PTI): A court here on Monday dismissed the complaint against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for allegedly showing disrespect to the national anthem at an event here in 2021, citing that "no offence is made out".
Vivekanand Gupta, a functionary of the Bharatiya Janata Party's Mumbai unit, had approached the magistrate court with a complaint, alleging that Banerjee did not stand when the national anthem was played at the event during her visit to Mumbai in December 2021.
Gupta had accused Banerjee of disrespecting the national anthem and demanded that an FIR be registered against her under the Prevention of Insults to the National Honour Act.
The complaint was dismissed by Metropolitan Magistrate (Mazgaon court) S B Kale. The detailed order was not available yet.
According to a lawyer, who attended the hearing on Monday, the court while dismissing the complaint said, "no offence was made out" against Banerjee.
Taking cognisance of Gupta's complaint, the magistrate court had in February 2022 issued a summons to the West Bengal chief minister.
The magistrate had at the time said that it was evident from the complaint, Gupta's verification statement, and video clips on YouTube that Banerjee had sung the national anthem and stopped abruptly and left the dais.
This prima facie proved that the accused had committed an offence punishable under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, it had stated.
The magistrate court had also ruled that no sanction was required to proceed against the chief minister, as she was not discharging official duty.
However, Banerjee moved a review petition before a special court against the magistrate's proceedings.
A special judge, after hearing both prosecution and defence, had in December last year set aside the summons against Banerjee and remanded the case back to the magistrate.
The judge had observed that the metropolitan magistrate "was not justified" in issuing a summons to Banerjee.
The proper course would be to remit the matter back to the metropolitan magistrate with direction to comply and adhere to the procedure mandated under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), the special court had said.
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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
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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.
