No major decision to be taken by 9 centre heads at JNU; appointments by VC without authority: HC
New Delhi, Nov 3: The Delhi High Court has restrained the heads of nine JNU centres from taking any major decisions and said that their appointment by the varsity's Vice Chancellor was prima facie without any authority.
A bench headed by Justice Rajiv Shakdher stated that the Vice Chancellor is not vested with the power to appoint Chairpersons of Centres or Special Centres as the JNU statute confers the power of appointment on the Executive Council.
The bench, also comprising Justice Talwant Singh, was dealing with an appeal against a Single-Judge order which had refused to grant a stay on the appointments on a petition by Professor Atul Sood.
Observing that it was cognizant of the fact that the Centres/Special Centres need Chairpersons for effective functioning , the court requested the Single Judge, who is hearing the challenge to the appointments, to advance the hearing on the writ petition.
We are prima facie of the view that respondent no.2 (Vice Chancellor) is not vested with the power to appoint Chairpersons of Centres/Special Centres. The Statute confers the power of appointment on the Executive Council. Thus, clearly the appointment of Chairpersons of Centres/Special Centres by respondent no.2 is, as is evident at this stage, prima facie, without authority, the bench opined in its order dated October 26.
Pending decision in the writ petition, the nine (9) Chairpersons, who have been appointed.. (as stated in) Minutes of the 296th meeting of the Executive Council, will not take any major decisions, including functions relating to convening of selection committees and/or carrying out selection(s), concerning the Centres/special centres, it added.
The court clarified that the views are only prima facie and the single judge will decide the writ petition on merits, after hearing both sides.
Lawyer Abhik Chimni, representing the appellant, said that the exercise of power of appointment in the present case by the Vice Chancellor was null and void in law and the Executive Council could not have approved the same subsequently.
JNU counsel Monika Arora stated that the power to appoint chairpersons to various centres is exercised by the Vice Chancellor from time to time, which is subsequently ratified by the Executive Council.
She informed that the single judge has indicated that he would examine the aspect as to whether the Vice-Chancellor could at all initiate the process of appointment of Chairpersons to various Centres/Special Centres, under the provisions of the JNU statute.
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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.
