Actor Gaurav Bakshi arrested by Goa police for `blocking' minister's car
Panaji (PTI): Goa police on Thursday arrested actor Gaurav Bakshi for allegedly restraining the movement of state Animal Husbandry Minister Nilkant Halarnkar by blocking his car, an official said.
Bakshi, who has acted in web series and a few films, claimed in his counter-complaint that it was the minister's car that had blocked his way.
The actor was arrested after Halarnkar's personal security officer (PSO) filed a complaint at Colvale police station in North Goa district, a senior police official said.
He was booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections related to "obstructing public servant" and "wilful restraint", the official added.
The minister told reporters that the incident took place when he was leaving in his car after attending a function at Revora panchayat hall in North Goa district on Wednesday.
The accused's car blocked his path, and Bakshi threatened his PSO when asked to move his vehicle, the minister alleged.
Bakshi, for his part, released a video stating that he had filed a complaint against the minister at the local police station over the incident at the panchayat office.
Advocate Nigel Da Costa, lawyer representing Bakshi, in a media statement released here has said that bail application was moved before Judicial Magistrate First Class, Mapusa on Thursday at 9 pm.
“But the investigating officer turned up at 9.15 pm and sought time. The learned magistrate had to adjourn the matter to 10 am tomorrow (Friday),”he said.
In a statement released here on Thursday, Colvale police said Rohan Parab, PSO of the minister, filed a complaint that Bakshi, at around 4:05pm on July 10, wrongfully restrained the minister by parking his vehicle in front of minister’s government vehicle.
The minister was in Revora Panchayat in his official capacity to attend a sapling distribution function, the statement said.
The accused did not move his vehicle despite repeated requests and deterred the complainant from performing his official duty, police said.
The 47-year-old actor was arrested under section 126 (7) (obstruction of a way), 221 (confinement of public servant) and 132 (restraining public servant) of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).
Da Costa, meanwhile, said Bakshi's arrest was abuse of power by the police.
"Bakshi had surrendered to the police but we were later informed that section 132 of BNS, which pertains to a non bailable offence, was added," Da Costa claimed.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had said earlier in the day that the government had taken cognisance of the incident. "He (Bakshi) would be arrested," Sawant said.
Bakshi, who has acted in the web series "Bombay Begums" and "Naxalbari" among others, runs a start-up in Goa.
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Neutrality of polls can't be assured if EC dependent on contestants: Justice Nagarathna
New Delhi (PTI): Supreme Court judge Justice BV Nagarathna, while highlighting that the Election Commission is the primary institution entrusted with maintaining the integrity of polls, has said if those who conduct elections are dependent on those who contest them, the neutrality of the process cannot be assured.
The apex court judge raised a critical concern regarding the structural independence of those tasked with overseeing the ballot while delivering the Rajendra Prasad Memorial Lecture at the Chanakya Law University in Patna on Saturday.
Citing a 1995 verdict where the Supreme Court recognised the Election Commission as a constitutional authority of high significance, entrusted with ensuring the integrity of elections, she said, "The concern, once again, was structural: if those who conduct elections are dependent on those who contest them, the neutrality of the process cannot be assured."
Justice Nagarathna said elections are not merely periodic events but a mechanism through which political authority is constituted.
"Our constitutional democracy has amply demonstrated smooth changes in government due to elections being held on a timely basis. Control over that process is, in effect, control over the conditions of political competition itself," she said.
The Supreme Court judge said power is not exercised only through formal institutions but also through the processes that sustain them, including elections, public finance, and regulation.
"A constitutional structure that seeks to restrain power must therefore go beyond its classical forms and address these fourth-branch institutions. A set of institutions, while not always fitting within the classical tripartite scheme, is nonetheless central to the maintenance of constitutional order," she said.
Justice Nagarathna said the unmistakable lesson of history is that constitutional collapse occurs through the disabling of its structure, and the violation of rights merely follows.
"The dismantling of structure, in turn, occurs when institutions stop checking each other. At that moment, elections may continue, courts may function, laws may be enacted by Parliament, and yet, power is effectively not restrained because the structural discipline no longer exists," she said.
The apex court judge also urged the Centre to view states as "coordinates and not subordinates" and asserted that the separation of powers was a "constitutional arrangement of co-equals."
Justice Nagarathna also called for keeping aside "inter-party differences" in the matter of "Centre-state relations", underscoring that governance must not depend on "which party may be ruling the Centre and which other party may be ruling at the state level".
