WGAI blames IGU for golfer Aditi missing Arjuna award
New Delhi, Sep 25 : In a scathing attack on the Indian Golf Union for failing to nominate Aditi Ashok for this year's Arjuna award, the Women's Golf Association of India (WGAI) on Tuesday said it will approach Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore while not ruling out the possibility of a parallel body for governing women's golf in the country.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the launch of the 12th edition of the Hero Indian Open, WGAI Secretary General Champika Sayal said she was shocked to not find teenaged Aditi's name among the list of 20 Arjuna awardees, who were conferred the awards at a glittering ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Tuesday.
"We were shocked to know that Aditi's name was not there in the Arjuna Awards list. In fact, we wanted her to be nominated immediately after the Rio Olympics but that was not done," she said.
Sayal alleged that the Indian Golf Union (IGU), the governing body for the sport in the country, had given a "bizarre" reason of "two athletes from the same sport can't be nominated for the award" after the WGAI questioned the absence of Aditi's name from the Arjuna award list.
"The fact is a deserving player has been denied the Arjuna award and that's a massive loss. The IGU is not doing anything and at the same time it is not willing to give the charge," she said.
"We don't get access to what is happening in IGU, no meetings, no circulars. Unfortunately, when we see the sport is not being developed we can't do anything," she added.
However, on being questioned, IGU Director General Major General Bibhuti Bhushan (Retd) shifted the blame on the golfer, saying she did not sign the form required for nomination.
"We recommended two names this year -- Shubhankar Sharma and Aditi. But according to the process, you send the form to the player, so they can sign it. We waited till the last day, Shubhankar signed the form but Aditi did not," he said.
This year, Shubhankar is the only recipient of the Arjuna award from the discipline.
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BCI urges CJI to take action against Andhra HC judge for sending young lawyer to 24-hour custody
New Delhi (PTI): The Bar Council of India on Wednesday sought the urgent intervention of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant following a "deeply disturbing" incident where a judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court reportedly sent a young advocate to
24-hour judicial custody over a procedural lapse.
The Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairperson and senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, in a formal representation, termed the conduct of Justice Tarlada Rajasekhar Rao "grossly inappropriate" and "damaging to the confidence of the Bar".
“I most respectfully request your Lordship to kindly take immediate institutional cognizance of the matter and call for the video recording of the proceedings, the order passed, and the surrounding circumstances.
“I further request that appropriate administrative action may kindly be considered, including withdrawal of judicial work from the learned Judge pending review, his immediate transfer to some far off High Court, and his nomination for appropriate judicial training/orientation on court management, judicial temperament, Bar-Bench relations, and proportional exercise of contempt/judicial authority,” Mishra wrote.
This representation is made to preserve the “dignity, moral authority and public confidence of the judiciary”, he said, adding, “Judges command the highest respect not by fear, but by fairness, patience, restraint and constitutional humility”.
The communication urged the CJI to intervene at the earliest to ensure that the faith of Bar, particularly young advocates, in the protective and corrective role of the judiciary is restored.
The controversy stems from proceedings on May 5.
According to the BCI, a video circulating online shows Justice Rao rebuking a young advocate who was unable to produce a specific order copy during a hearing.
The letter said that despite the advocate "repeatedly seeking pardon and mercy" and claiming he was in physical pain, the judge remained "unmoved".
The judge allegedly told the lawyer, "now you will learn," and mocked his experience before directing the Registrar and police personnel to take him into custody for 24 hours.
The BCI chairperson said that the judge’s actions lacked proportionality and fairness.
"The dignity of the court is not enhanced when a lawyer is made to beg for grace in open court and is still sent to custody for a procedural lapse," the letter said.
"A young lawyer... is an officer of the Court, still learning, still growing, and entitled to correction without humiliation," it added.
The bar body said that such actions create a "chilling effect" on the legal fraternity, particularly among junior members, and undermine the mutual respect required between the Bench and the Bar.
