Auction lost in one second; K'taka HC says it is not an expert to decide
Bengaluru, Apr 1: The High Court of Karnataka has rejected a petition which sought to address a dispute with regard to technical issue in an auction process saying courts were not experts on such issues.
The petitioner had lost an auction though it was the highest bidder just one second before the expiry of the e-auction.
The HC, however, said, "Complicated nuances of conduct of an electronic auction is sought to be projected by the petitioner, which this Court admittedly does not have such expertise to decipher and assess threadbare. Going by what the documents are produced as certificates by the competent authorities with regard to the conduct of auction, the petition does not merit any indulgence at the hands of this Court and would necessarily meet its dismissal." New Horizon Educational and Cultural Trust and KLSR Infratech Limited were both bidders at an auction conducted by The Federal Bank and The South Indian Bank of a property.
The owners of the property had secured loan, which they were unable to repay and as per the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest (SARFAESI) Act, the property was put up for auction to recover the Rs 51 crore dues.
The auction took place on February 2, 2023. New Horizon Educational Trust approached the HC with the plea that its bid has not been accepted.
The Trust had bid Rs 52 crore at 3.45 PM and this was the highest bid till the last one second before the closure of the bids.
However, five minutes later the bid of KLSR Infratech at Rs 52.10 crore was accepted which it alleged was arbitrary.
The advocate for the Trust contended that "if the auction was to end in one second, the ninth respondent could not have become the successful bidder at 15:57 hours." KSLR Infratech. however, contended before the HC that "what the petitioner alleges is only a figment of imagination and, therefore, would contend that this Court in exercise of its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India would not interfere in the auction where there is neither accessed it and submitted its bid up to 15:54 hours and it is then he alleges there was a technical glitch. This cannot be accepted and the e-auction cannot be interfered with for the technical difficulties of the petitioner."
The Court said the arbitrariness is not palpable or demonstrable in this case. Further, Justice M Nagaprasanna in his judgment said that this issue was a private one where the Court had no part to play.
"What becomes germane to be noticed is who are the protagonists in this list. The petitioner a private bidder; ninth respondent another private bidder; respondents one and two private banks, all of whom are twined in an auction of private bidding. I fail to understand what is the public function that is involved in the case at hand for this Court to exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India," the Court said rejecting the petition.
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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.
