CM Siddaramaiah loses cool at police officer after few people attempt to disrupt his speech
Belagavi, April 28 (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday lost his cool and made a gesture by raising his hand at a police officer on the stage, as a group of people, allegedly BJP workers, tried to disrupt his speech during a protest rally here.
The group of people who were amidst the large crowd showed a black flag and shouted some slogans, Congress and official sources said. Siddaramaiah, who was visibly upset, summoned the police officer on to the stage. He addressed him in singular, "Come here, who is the SP? What are you doing?"
The CM can then be seen making a gesture by raising his hand at the officer out of frustration, but withdraws it immediately, and subsequently instructs him to remove the people who are creating disturbance. It can be seen that Siddaramaiah lost h is cool despite AICC general secretary Raneeep Singh Surjewala and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil trying to calm him down. He can then be seen questioning Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar, who is from Belagavi.
The chief minister was addressing the "Samvidhan Bachao and Anti Price Rise Rally" here that was attended by a host of Congress leaders and ministers of his cabinet. Siddaramaiah resumed his speech and said, "BJP and RSS will try to disturb peace like e this everywhere. They try to incite fire in the society. They try to divide the society. We will not fear such attempts by the BJP. We have the strength to face them publicly. I want to make this clear to them."
"If we ask our (Congress) workers to take care of BJP and RSS, they will ensure that they don't open their tail. I condemn the BJP on behalf of all the Congress workers for indulging in such disruptions. Don't you (BJP) feel ashamed?" Asserting the at Congress won't fear such things, Siddaramaiah said, "We will not stop our protest against the central government's price rise." Questioning the BJP whe ther they are not ashamed to come to a Congress rally and try to disrupt it, the CM said Congress workers won't budge or fear such things.
He then tells the crowd, let's not pay attention to disrupters, and continue with our protest. Later speaking to reporters, state Congress president and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar warned the BJP that he wouldn't allow its meetings or programmes anywhere in the state, if the saffron party's attitude continues this way. "For the first time today, the BJP sent four of its workers. I don't know whether it was a corporator or a block president. They came with our card. They showed a black flag and shouted slogans and tried to disrupt. I want to tell all BJP and opposition party leaders, if this is your attitude, we won't allow even a single meeting or programme of yours in the entire state. This is the Congress party's pledge," he said.
"I would like to warn you (BJP). If you rectify it, fine. If this attitude continues, people of the state and God have given me the strength to ensure similar action against you on a bigger scale than what you have done. This is a warning. Rectify within your party and among your workers, or else I won't allow your programmes anywhere. We are ready to counter it," Shivakumar added.
#Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah's heated moment at Congress protest rally #Belagavi
— Nabila Jamal (@nabilajamal_) April 28, 2025
Seen raising his hand while gesturing at a police officer during his speech
Incident reported when some BJP activists allegedly raised slogans and waved black flags against the CM pic.twitter.com/cwq2NDxdXD
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High courts upheld only 8 per cent of death sentences; SC confirms none in recent years: Report
New Delhi (PTI): Highlighting that a high acquittal rate of death row convicts by the Supreme Court and high courts demonstrates a pattern of "erroneous or unjustified convictions", a study of 10 years of death penalty data has revealed that the top court did not confirm any death sentences in recent years.
The study by Square Circle Clinic, a criminal laws advocacy group with the NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad, found that an overwhelming majority of death sentences imposed by trial courts did not withstand scrutiny at higher judicial levels. Acquittals far outnumbered confirmations at both the high courts and Supreme Court levels.
According to the report, the trial courts across India awarded 1,310 death sentences in 822 cases between 2016 and 2025. High courts considered 842 of these sentences in confirmation proceedings but upheld only 70 or 8.31 per cent.
In contrast, 258 death sentences (30.64 per cent) resulted in acquittals. The study noted that the acquittal rate at the high court level was nearly four times the confirmation rate.
Data showed that of the 70 death sentences confirmed by high courts, the Supreme Court decided 38 and did not uphold a single one. The apex court has confirmed no death sentences between 2023 and 2025.
"Wrongful or erroneous or unjustified convictions, then, are not random or freak accidents in the Indian criminal justice system. The data indicates they are a persistent and serious systemic concern," the report said.
Over the last decade, high courts adjudicated 1,085 death sentences in 647 cases, confirming only 106 (9.77 per cent). During this period, 326 persons in 191 cases, were acquitted.
The report attributed low confirmation rates to the appellate judiciary’s concerns regarding failures in due process. "This coincides with increased Supreme Court scrutiny of safeguards at the sentencing stage," the report said.
Of the 153 death sentences decided by the apex court over the last decade, the accused were acquitted in 38 cases. In 2025 alone, high courts overturned death sentences into acquittals in 22 out of 85 cases (over 25 per cent). The same year, Supreme Court acquitted accused persons in more than half of the death penalty cases it decided (10 out of 19), the report said.
The study highlighted that 364 persons who were ultimately acquitted "should not even have been convicted and unjustifiably suffered the trauma of death row". It added that such failures extend beyond adjudication and reflect serious lapses in investigation and prosecution.
The question of remedies for wrongful convictions remains pending before the Supreme Court. In September 2025, three persons acquitted by the apex court filed writ petitions seeking compensation from the state and argued that their wrongful convictions violated their fundamental right to life and liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
"In 2022, the Supreme Court crystallised a sentencing process in Manoj v. State of Madhya Pradesh , and mandated all courts to follow those guidelines before imposing or confirming a death sentence," the report read.
In 2025, the apex court held in Vasanta Sampat Dupare v. Union of India that death penalty sentencing hearings form part of the right to a fair trial and stressed that capital punishment can be imposed only after a constitutionally compliant sentencing process.
"However, even at the high courts whether the process mandated under Manoj is being complied with is in doubt,” the report said.
