Three-judge bench to consider prayer to treat cost of Rs 25 lakh as donation: Supreme Court
New Delhi(PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday said its three-judge bench will consider an NGO's prayer to treat as a donation the cost of Rs 25 lakh imposed by the apex court while rejecting a plea seeking an SIT probe into allegations of bribery in a purported medical college scam.
On December 1, 2017, the apex court dismissed a plea filed by the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) terming it contemptuous and asked it to deposit Rs 25 lakh with the registry in six weeks. It had said the amount shall be transferred to Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Advocates' Welfare Fund.
On Tuesday, a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and C T Ravikumar said the December 2017 order was passed by a three-judge bench and it would be appropriate that the prayer made by CJAR is also considered by a three-judge bench.
As regards prayer clause C, as the original order dated December 1, 2017 was passed by a bench of three-judges combination, post this application for consideration of that prayer before a three-judge bench, the bench said.
Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for CJAR, told the top court that this body is actually a platform with retired judges, senior advocates and others and a penalty would impose some kind of stigma on several persons.
We have no problem in where the money goes, nor do we want the money back, he said, adding that they are not at all on the merits of the matter.
He said the applicant is only requesting that the amount be treated as a donation and not penalty.
Attorney General K K Venugopal said the applicant feels that cost is in the nature of a penalty and therefore wants that the amount already been deposited, be treated as a donation.
We, the members of the Supreme Court Bar Association, would be very happy to receive that amount and therefore, I personally have no objection to the amount being treated as a donation, Venugopal said.
The bench said there was already a direction in the 2017 order that the amount be transferred to the SCBA Advocates' Welfare Fund.
It said one of the prayers made by the applicant that the amount be transferred to the SCBA can't be taken forward as the December 2017 order directs transfer of amount to the SCBA Advocates' Welfare Fund and not to the SCBA.
The bench directed the apex court registry to transfer the amount in consonance with the direction issued by the court in the 2017 order.
The CJAR had earlier told the top court that it had deposited Rs 25 lakh with its registry.
The apex court had dismissed the review and the curative pleas of CJAR in the case.
The petitioner had claimed that allegations of bribery were levelled for securing settlement of cases relating to medical colleges in which a retired judge of the Orissa High Court was also an accused.
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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.
