Bombay HC remands Anil Deshmukh in ED custody till Nov 12; sets aside judicial custody order
Mumbai(PTI): The Bombay High Court on Sunday set aside a special court's order remanding former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh to judicial custody, and sent him in the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) custody till November 12 in a money laundering case.
A vacation bench of Justice Madhav Jamdar was hearing an application filed by the ED, challenging the special court's order of November 6 remanding Deshmukh to 14-day judicial custody, on the ground that it was bad in law and against the principles of natural justice.
Deshmukh's counsel Vikram Chaudhri and advocate Aniket Nikam told the court that while they were opposing the plea on merits and maintainability, the NCP leader has consented and volunteered to be interrogated by the ED.
The court then remanded Deshmukh to ED custody till November 12.
Deshmukh was arrested by the ED on November 1 after 12 hours of questioning in connection with a multi-crore money laundering case.
He was produced before a special holiday court on November 2 which remanded him to ED's custody till November 6.
When he was produced before the special court on Saturday, the ED had sought further custody, but the court refused and sent him in judicial custody.
The ED had initiated a probe against Deshmukh and his associates after the CBI filed its FIR against the NCP leader on April 21 on charges of corruption and misuse of official position.
The ED had earlier arrested two persons in the case Sanjeev Palande (additional collector rank official who was working as Deshmukh's private secretary) and Kundan Shinde (Deshmukh's personal assistant).
The agency earlier submitted its prosecution complaint (equivalent to a charge sheet) against the duo before a special court.
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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.
