SC agrees to hear next week pleas challenging Centre's 'Agnipath' scheme
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday said that it would hear next week pleas challenging the Centre's 'Agnipath' scheme for recruitment in the armed forces.
A vacation bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and JK Maheshwari said that petitions will be listed next week before an appropriate bench upon reopening of the apex court after summer vacation.
A counsel, who filed a plea against the scheme, said Indian Air Force aspirants have undergone training and were waiting for appointment letters but now their career will be cut short from 20 years to four years.
This is an urgent matter, kindly list it. The careers of several aspirants are at stake , the counsel said.
Advocate ML Sharma, who has also filed a PIL challenging the scheme, said he seeks cancellation of the government's notification pertaining to the scheme as more than 70,000 aspirants who have undergone training were waiting for their appointment letters before the pandemic and now their career has been shortened by scheme.
The bench said that when you (Sharma) have waited for more than two years then why you are coming before the vacation bench. It listed Sharma's plea before the appropriate bench along with other matters.
In the PIL, Sharma has alleged that the government has quashed the century-old selection process for the Armed forces which is contrary to the constitutional provisions.
The Agnipath scheme, announced on June 14, provides for the recruitment of youths between the age of 17-and-a-half and 21 for only four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years. Protests have erupted in several states against the scheme.
Later, the government extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022.
The plea also referred to protest all over the country against the scheme.
Earlier, several petitions have been filed in the top court seeking a direction to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the damage to public properties, including that of Railways, during violent protests against the scheme.
The plea has also sought directions to the Centre and Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Haryana, and Rajasthan governments to submit a status report on the violent protests.
It has sought a direction to set up an expert committee under the chairmanship of a retired apex court judge to examine the scheme and its impact on national security and the Army.
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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.
