Karnataka HC vacates stay on Panchamasali quota, clears decks for state govt to take call
Bengaluru, Mar 23: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday vacated a stay earlier granted on the Panchamasali caste reservation paving the way for the state government to take a decision on it.
Earlier on January 12, the High Court had granted a status quo order on taking action on the interim report filed by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes.
The Panchamasali caste of the Lingayats have been demanding inclusion in the Category 2A of the reservation list in the state.
The petitioner, Raghavendra D G, had approached the High Court with a public interest litigation (PIL) against the government including the Panchamasalis in the 2A category based on the interim report of the commission.
On Friday, the division bench headed by Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale lifted the status quo order on the quota.
This has cleared the decks for the government to implement its decision announced in the Assembly session recently.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta apprised the High Court that the government has no intention of disturbing the existing 2A category of reservation and therefore the status quo order be vacated.
He also promised to submit a written undertaking in this regard. Considering the submissions, the High Court vacated the stay but made it clear that any action would be subject to the final decision of the court in the petition.
"The oral statement made before this Court is accepted as an undertaking and R1 is directed to file a brief written statement in the Court during the day and copy to be supplied to the petitioner. The apprehensions expressed in para 2 to which a reference was made before this court is also taken care of by the statement made before this court. Accordingly, the interim order is modified to that effect," the HC said in its order.
The state government had decided to create separate categories called 2C and 2D to include the Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities, respectively.
The PIL had alleged that the government is likely to include the Panchamasalis in the 2A Category of reservation based on the interim report of the Commission. Since such a request was rejected by the body in 2000 itself, the court was requested to prevent the government from making the inclusion now.
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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.
