HC quashes case against CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar for COVID-19 rule violation
Bengaluru, June 16: The High Court of Karnataka on Friday quashed a case against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar in relation to violation of Covid-19 restrictions, during the Mekedatu Padayatra in January 2022, when they were in opposition.
The case against the two Congress leaders and several others was filed under the Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Act and the IPC, which was challenged before the HC.
Justice M Nagaprasanna noted that the state government had not issued any notification under the Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Act barring padayatra and such activities.
The HC also quashed four other proceedings against Shivakumar -- who is also the state Congress chief -- that were initiated against him under the same Epidemic Diseases Act.
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"The notification which the State relies upon is the one issued under the Disaster Management Act and not under the Epidemic Diseases Act. Therefore unless notification under Epidemic Diseases Act is issued barring such activities, taking recourse to the Disaster Management Act and bringing it into Epidemic Diseases Act is unavailable," the HC said in its order quashing the case.
The complaint against Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar along with eleven others was filed by the tahsildar of Ramanagara on January 12, 2022. It was alleged that they had violated the Government orders and went ahead with the padayatra without permission.
A local magistrate had taken cognizance of the crime and initiated proceedings.
The Congress, then in opposition, had staged a padayatra demanding the implementation of the Mekedatu reservoir project across the Cauvery river, near Kanakapura in the Ramanagara district.
Quashing the case, the HC said, "The registration of the case and the filing of the charge sheet by the police for violation of Epidemic Diseases Act is rendered unsustainable. All other offences alleged under IPC are offshoots of Section 5 of the Epidemic Diseases Act. That having been rendered unsustainable, all other offences would also follow suit."
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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.
