Gujarat HC judge apologises to colleague after snapping at her in open court
Ahmedabad (PTI): Two days after a viral video showed a senior judge of the Gujarat High Court snapping at his colleague on the bench in an open court following disagreement over a matter, the former began the court session on Wednesday by apologising to her over the episode.
Justice Biren Vaishnav said he was sorry for what happened in the court on Monday. The court was closed on Tuesday on account of Dussehra.
Justice Vaishnav, the senior judge on the bench had a heated exchange of words with puisne judge Justice Mauna Bhatt on October 23. The incident took place while Justice Vaishnav was passing an order in a matter and Justice Bhatt did not agree with it.
"What happened on Monday shouldn't have happened. I was wrong. I am sorry for that, and we begin a new session," Justice Vaishnav said as soon as the session began, in the presence of Justice Mauna Bhatt who is part of the division bench.
While the video of the Monday session of the division bench of Justices Vaishnav and Bhatt was pulled down from the official YouTube page of the Gujarat High Court, a purported video of the incident circulating on social media showed Justice Bhatt murmuring something to Justice Vaishnav when he was passing the order.
Upon this, Justice Vaishnav snapped, "Then you differ...We have differed in one, we can differ in the other." Justice Bhatt then said, "It is not a question about differing." To this, Justice Vaishnav said, "Then do not murmur, you pass a separate order. We are not taking other matters." He then rose and left the courtroom.
Justice Biren Vaishnav of Gujarat High Court apologises to Justice Mauna Bhatt
— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) October 25, 2023
"What happened on Monday should not have happened. I was wrong."#GujaratHighCourt pic.twitter.com/s3jpjv2gV8
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.
