MP polls: Cong candidate's aide killed in Chhatarpur district; sporadic clashes reported
Bhopal (PTI): An aide of a Congress candidate was killed after two groups fought in the Rajnagar constituency of Madhya Pradesh and a few clashes were reported in other parts of the state, where assembly elections are being held on Friday, officials said.
Five persons were injured in a skirmish between two groups in the Mhow area of Indore district, while two men were wounded in a clash in Morena district's Dimani constituency, where Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar is contesting, they said.
According to Chhatarpur Superintendent of Police Amit Sanghi, supporters of two political leaders faced off in the Rajnagar constituency in the early hours of Friday which resulted in the death of one Salman.
The Congress candidate for the seat, Vikram Singh, alias Nati Raja, has alleged that Salman used to drive him around. However, BJP nominee Arvind Pateria dubbed the incident a conspiracy and sought a judicial probe into it.
To ensure the peaceful conduct of polls in the sensitive Sumawali assembly constituency of Morena district, the police asked BJP candidate Andal Singh Kansana, Congress nominee Ajab Singh Kushwaha and BSP's Kuldeep Singh Sikarwar to sit in one place.
Morena Superintendent of Police Shailendra Singh said, "The trio was called for a meeting the previous day where they agreed upon coming to the police line. This has been an old practice," he added. Morena is a part of the Chmbal region that was once infamous for producing dreaded dacoits.
Earlier, SP Singh had said that a clash between two groups was reported from Mirdhan village over attempts to stop voters from casting their ballots in Dimni constituency in which two persons were injured. He said some channels ran inaccurate reports claiming that there was firing and subsequent bullet injuries in the village.
"Two persons, identified as Ajay Sharma and Rampratap Sharma, were injured by sticks in the fight. The news of bullet injuries is wrong," he said, adding that additional police personnel have been deployed in the area.
Meanwhile, five men were injured in a fight between two groups of political parties at Manglia village of Mhow tehsil on Friday morning, Sub Divisional Officer of Police Dilip Chowdhary told PTI.
In the Jhabua constituency, Congress candidate Dr Vikrant Bhuria's security guard was injured after stones were pelted at them around Thursday midnight.
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36 ex-judges slam Opposition move to impeach Justice Swaminathan
New Delhi (PTI): Thirty-six former judges on Saturday gave a call to people, including parliamentarians, to denounce opposition leaders' move to impeach Madras High Court judge Justice G R Swaminathan, saying such an attempt, if allowed to proceed, would cut at the very roots of democracy and independence of the judiciary.
On December 1, Justice Swaminathan held that the Arulmighu Subramania Swamy Temple was duty-bound to light the lamp at the Deepathoon, in addition to the customary lighting near the Uchi Pillaiyar Mandapam.
The single-judge bench said that doing so would not encroach upon the rights of the adjacent dargah or the Muslim community.
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The order sparked a row, and on December 9, several opposition MPs, led by the DMK, submitted a notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to move a motion for the removal of the judge.
Taking serious exception to the move, the former judges in a joint statement said this is a "brazen attempt to browbeat judges who do not fall in line with the ideological and political expectations of a particular section of society".
"If such an attempt is permitted to proceed, it would cut at the very roots of our democracy and the independence of the judiciary," they said.
"We therefore call upon all stakeholders -- Members of Parliament across party lines, members of the Bar, civil society, and citizens at large -- to unequivocally denounce this move and ensure that it is nipped in the bud at the very inception," they added.
The statement emphasised that the judges must remain answerable to their oath and to the Constitution of India, not to "partisan political pressures or ideological intimidation".
"The message from all constitutional stakeholders must be clear and firm: in a republic governed by the rule of law, judgments are tested by appeals and legal critique, and not by threats of impeachment for political nonconformity," it said.
The statement was signed by former Supreme Court judge Krishn Murari J as well as ex-chief justices and former judges of different high courts.
The statement said the opposition party's move is not an "isolated aberration". It fits into a "clear and deeply troubling pattern" in India's recent constitutional history, where sections of the political class have sought to discredit and intimidate the higher judiciary whenever outcomes do not align with their interests, it added.
"The unprecedented bid in 2018 to initiate impeachment proceedings against then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, the sustained campaigns of vilification directed at Chief Justices Ranjan Gogoi, S A Bobde and D Y Chandrachud while they were in office," the statement noted.
"The targeted attacks now being mounted against the incumbent CJI, Justice Surya Kant, whenever a judgment/remark displeases a political constituency, are all manifestations of the same trend," it said.
"This is not principled, reasoned criticism of judicial decisions; it is an attempt to weaponise impeachment and public calumny as instruments of pressure -- a practice that strikes at the heart of judicial independence and the basic norms of constitutional democracy," the statement added.
