Children died, no one can bear this loss: DK Shivakumar breaks down on camera after B'luru stampede
Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar broke down on camera while addressing the media on the tragic stampede outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru that claimed eleven lives and left several others injured.
A visibly shaken Shivakumar said the victims included children as young as 15, and the loss was unbearable. “I’ve seen with my eyes at least ten people who passed away. No family can digest this loss,” he said, choking back tears.
Recounting the events leading up to the tragedy, Shivakumar explained how rapidly the situation escalated. He revealed that the Police Commissioner urgently asked him to wind up the event within ten minutes due to rising concerns. “He told me that 1–2 lives have been lost. Rush the event, finish it in 10 minutes,” Shivakumar said.
Reacting to criticism from the opposition, Shivakumar urged for empathy during the tragedy. “Let the opposition do politics on dead bodies. I will list how many dead bodies they have done politics on. But it hurts to see the little children. I have seen their pain," he stated.
On Wednesday, he acknowledged that the crowd was far larger than expected, stating, “The stadium has a capacity of 35,000, but over three lakh people were present. We never anticipated such a massive turnout.” He also apologised for the failure in crowd control, adding, “This incident happened where the gates were broken. We fully apologise for this.”
Meanwhile, State Home Minister G. Parameshwara announced that the Karnataka government will soon introduce a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for mega events, meetings, and celebrations to prevent such tragedies in the future.
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Cash discovery row: SC grills Justice Yashwant Varma over his petition
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday questioned Justice Yashwant Varma over his plea to invalidate an in-house inquiry panel report indicting him over the discovery of huge cache of burnt cash from his official residence during his tenure as a Delhi High Court judge.
"Why did you appear before the inquiry committee? Did you come to the court that the video be removed? Why did you wait for the inquiry to be completed and the report be released? Did you take a chance of a favourable order there first," a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and A G Masih asked senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was representing Justice Varma.
The top court further quizzed Justice Varma over the parties he had made in his plea and said he should have filed the in-house inquiry report with his plea.
Sibal submitted there was a process under Article 124 (the Establishment and constitution of the Supreme Court), and a judge couldn't be a subject matter of public debate.
"The release of video on SC website, public furore, media accusations against judges are prohibited as per constitutional scheme," Sibal added.
The top court asked Sibal to come with one page bullet points and correct the memo of parties.
The matter was posted for July 30.
Justice Varma has sought quashing of the May 8 recommendation by then chief justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, urging Parliament to initiate impeachment proceedings against him.
His plea said the inquiry "reversed the burden of proof", requiring him to investigate and disprove the charges levelled against him.
Alleging that the panel's findings were based on a preconceived narrative, Justice Varma said the inquiry timelines were driven solely by the urge to conclude proceedings swiftly, even at the expense of "procedural fairness".
The petition contended that the inquiry panel drew adverse findings without affording him a full and fair hearing.
A report of the inquiry panel probing the incident had said Justice Varma and his family members had covert or active control over the store room where a huge cache of half-burnt cash was found following a fire incident, proving his misconduct which is serious enough to seek his removal.
The three-judge panel headed by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu of the Punjab and Haryana High Court conducted the inquiry for 10 days, examined 55 witnesses and visited the scene of the accidental fire that started at around 11.35 pm on March 14 at the official residence of Justice Varma, then a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court and now in the Allahabad High Court.
Acting on the report, then CJI Khanna wrote to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi recommending the judge's impeachment.
