Pardon granted as accused turns approver while co-accused MLA cries foul; HC says it is permissible
Bengaluru (PTI): The High Court of Karnataka has upheld the pardon granted to one of the accused in a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case stating that the pardon is permissible if the testimony of the approver would help successfully prosecute the other accused in the case who may not get convicted by other means.
The Special Court in Bengaluru's order of granting pardon to Sushil Kumar Valecha, 73, the director of Shri Lal Mahal Limited, New Delhi was challenged by co-accused M/s Shree Mallikarjun Shipping Pvt Ltd and Sateesh Krishna Sail, the MD of the company.
"Pardon is a permissible exercise of power by the concerned court and if full disclosure of facts are coming about in terms of the said pardon, such pardon should be permitted," the high court said, upholding the trial court decision in the matter.
The Special Court had on October 7, 2021 allowed the application of Valecha under Section 306 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) seeking pardon on turning approver in the case.
Sail is the current Congress MLA from Karwar. The case related to illegal iron ore mining dates to 2012. The crime was registered against several accused by the CBI which investigated the case and filed a charge sheet.
Several of the accused filed for discharge from the case but all of them were rejected. The trial court framed charges against the accused under IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act.
Valecha then filed an application seeking pardon, contending that he was only an employee of Shree Mallikarjun Shipping Pvt Ltd and he was willing to turn approver. The CBI filed a memo stating it had no objection. Thus, his application was allowed.
The challenge to this order of the trial court was filed by MLA Sail and the company before the high court which was heard by the bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna.
In its judgment on June 16, the high court said that the trial court's order was reasonable.
"It is a well-reasoned order which takes note of several judgments on the issue rendered by the apex court and allows the application filed by accused No 4 (Valecha). Therefore, I do not find any warrant to interfere with the order passed by the concerned court," the HC said.
Referring to earlier Supreme Court judgments, the HC said that the application for pardon can be considered if it helps the prosecution case.
The HC said, "The apex court holds that if by tendering of pardon, prosecution thinks that it will be in the best interest of the successful prosecution of the other offenders whose conviction is not easy without the approver's testimony, then the court should accept it."
The HC also directed the trial court to conclude the trial at the earliest.
It said, "The petition lacking in merit, stands dismissed. The concerned court, if it has not proceeded with the trial on account of pendency of the subject petition, shall now make every endeavour to conclude the proceedings by regulating its procedure."
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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.
