Prophet row: Ex-bureaucrats seek top court's intervention to check 'bulldozing' in UP
New Delhi, Jun 22: A group of retired civil servants on Tuesday wrote an open letter to Chief Justice of India N V Ramana seeking intervention by the Supreme Court in alleged illegal detention, bulldozing of residences and police violence in Uttar Pradesh following protests against certain objectionable remarks made by two now-removed BJP functionaries.
"What is even more alarming is that the idea of 'bulldozer justice', of inflicting brutal punishment on citizens who dare to protest lawfully or criticise the government or express dissent by using ostensibly legal instruments, is now becoming the norm rather than the exception across many Indian states, they said in the letter.
There is a sense of impunity and the arrogance of majoritarian power which seems to be driving this disregard for constitutional values and principles, it said.
The signatories include former Union Home Secretary G K Pillai, former Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, former Indian Police Service (IPS) officers Julio Ribeiro, Avinash Mohananey, Maxwell Pereira and A K Samanta, and former Social Justice Secretary Anita Agnihotri.
The former bureaucrats said they fully support a plea sent to the CJI on June 14, 2022 by a select group of former judges of the apex court, high courts and leading advocates, requesting him to take suo motu cognizance of the recent acts in Uttar Pradesh of alleged illegal detention, bulldozing of residences and police violence on protesters and those in police custody following protests against certain objectionable remarks made by two former BJP spokespersons.
They sought his immediate intervention in the matter.
The letter said a writ petition against the demolition of allegedly unauthorized constructions has been filed by the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind before the bench of Justices Bopanna and Vikram Nath and that after the preliminary hearing, the response of the state government has been sought and a hearing will take place next week.
The apex court, while hearing the plea last week, had said that "everything should be fair" and authorities should strictly follow the due procedure under the law.
The BJP on June 5 suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled its Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal after their controversial remarks against the Prophet.
We believe that unless the judiciary at the highest level steps in to intervene, swiftly, firmly and decisively, the entire edifice of constitutional governance that has been so carefully and meticulously constructed over the last seventy two years, is likely to collapse, said the letter signed by 90 former civil servants.
The demolition drive and the abuse of municipal and civic laws for political ends is just one element of a larger policy for converting the administrative and police apparatus into an instrument of brutal majoritarian repression, the former bureaucrats claimed in the letter written by them under the aegis of Constitutional Conduct Group.
There are explicit directions to invoke the National Security Act, 1980 and the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986 to brutally quell any protest, they said.
The policy has the sanction of the highest levels of the government and while local level officials and police personnel are certainly answerable for arbitrary use of power, the real culpability lies at the highest levels of the political executive, the letter said.
It is this corruption of the edifice of constitutional governance which requires the Supreme Court to step in and stem the rot, it said.
"It is no longer just a case of excesses' of the police and the administration at the local level which can be brought under check by higher levels of administration and political authority, it is the fact that the very idea of the rule of law, of due process', of being treated as innocent until proven guilty' is being turned upside down, the letter said.
"What we have seen in Prayagraj, in Kanpur, in Saharanpur and many other towns which have a sizeable Muslim population, follows a pattern and is politically directed," it claimed.
There is a sense of impunity and the arrogance of majoritarian power which seems to be driving this disregard for constitutional values and principles, the letter said.
"We believe that the immediacy of the threat is critical and we join hands with the former judges and the advocates who have petitioned you, in urging you to take cognisance of the situation and intervene appropriately, it said.
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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.
