K'taka HC stays Prof Lokanath's appointment as VC of Mysore University
Bengaluru, June 22: A single-judge bench of the High Court of Karnataka has stayed the appointment of Prof Lokanath N K as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mysore. Prof Sharath Ananthamurthy, the Professor, School of Physics, University of Hyderabad had challenged the appointment alleging that it was in violation of rules.
It is alleged that Prof Lokanath faces criminal charges and is not qualified for the post. On Wednesday, the Court ordered the interim stay and adjourned the hearing.
''The 5th Respondent (Prof Lokanath) is not eligible to be considered for the post of Vice-Chancellor his candidature has been rejected by notifying his name in the merit list on the ground that his appointment is in dispute and thus the search committee has recommended the names as per merit and forwarded to the State government,” the petition says.
However, the authorities in alleged contrast to Clause 7.3.0 of the UGC regulations recommended his name in the panel, the petition alleges. Prof Sharath had filed his application for the post of Vice Chancellor on November 18, 2022.
Another applicant, Prof H Rajashekar had approached the HC challenging the remarks made against his name in the main list. The HC on March 6, 2023 disposed of that petition directing the authorities to appoint the VC strictly in accordance with rules. The Search Committee submitted a fresh list of three names that included the name of Prof Lokanath NK on March 16.
Prof Sharath, in his new petition before the HC has claimed that this was done despite Lokanath being ineligible. Lokanath was selected as the VC on March 23. Prof Sharath, has said that he is eligible for the post but was not considered.
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''The petitioner is fully eligible and qualified to be considered for selection and appointment as Vice- Chancellor as he does not suffer from any disqualification. Nevertheless the 5th Respondent who is otherwise ineligible has been selected and appointed and the same has resulted in overlooking the merit of the Petitioner which has resulted in denial of right of the petitioner being selected which in turn resulted in irreparable injury to the petitioner though he is eligible on all counts he has been denied,'' the petition alleged. Prof Sharath is the son of popular Kannada writer, the late UR Ananthamurthy.
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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.
