Gujarat: Man gets 18 months in jail for hurling sandals at HC judge
Ahmedabad, Jun 4: A magisterial court here sentenced a tea vendor from Gujarat's Rajkot district to 18 months in jail for hurling his sandals at a High Court judge in 2012, out of frustration over long pendency of his case.
Chief judicial magistrate V A Dhadhal of Mirzapur rural court on Thursday held Bhavanidas Bavaji guilty as charged under IPC section 353 (assault on a government servant to deter him from discharging his duty).
In his statement to the police, Bavaji had claimed that he hurled his sandals at the judge out of frustration over the long pendency of his case.
While noting that the act of throwing sandals at a judge is "highly condemnable", magistrate Dhadhal refused to grant Bavaji benefits of probation, a provision of releasing convicts for good conduct.
The magistrate sentenced Bavaji, a resident of Bhayavadar town of Rajkot, to 18 months of simple imprisonment, and considering his financial condition, did not impose any fine on him.
As per the case details, the accused had hurled his sandals at High Court Justice K S Jhaveri on April 11, 2012, during a hearing.
Luckily, none of the sandals hit Justice Jhaveri.
When the judge had asked the reason for the act, Bavaji had said that he had done it out of frustration, as his case had not come up for hearing since a long time.
Bavaji was then handed over to Sola police station, which booked him under section 186 and 353 of the IPC.
The police's probe had revealed that Bavaji ran a roadside tea stall in Bhayavadar.
When the Bhayavadar municipality asked him to remove the stall, Bavaji managed to secure a stay order against the civic body from the Gondal sessions court, following which the municipality filed an appeal in the High Court.
In his statement, Bavaji claimed that on the basis of that appeal, the municipality had removed his tea stall, rendering him jobless.
With no source of income, the accused claimed he had lost his mental balance, as he had to borrow or beg for money from others to travel to Ahmedabad to attend the hearings.
Bavaji claimed that he had hurled the sandals out of frustration, as his case was not being heard for a long time and he was "tired of coming to the High Court", the order noted.
In his order, the magistrate observed that though it is a fact that cases are not getting disposed of in time because of pendency, that cannot be a reason for throwing sandals at a High Court judge.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
