Karnataka HC allows media to report on orders in Lathika Pai-Microsoft dispute
Bengaluru, Jul 19 (PTI): The Karnataka High Court has clarified that trial court orders in the legal battle between former Microsoft India executive Lathika Pai and the tech giant can be published by third parties, dismissing concerns over a possible blanket publication ban.
Justice M Nagaprasanna, in an order dated July 14, observed that while the trial court's language might initially seem to bar publication, a closer examination reveals that the restriction is applicable only to Pai herself.
"The phrase 'nor publish the order of the Court' must be interpreted in the context of the plaintiff. It indicates that the plaintiff is restrained from publishing the order, not that the order is barred from being published altogether," the High Court explained.
Pai had approached the trial court in Bengaluru alleging that she was compelled to resign from Microsoft following an extended, unresolved internal investigation related to a project she oversaw. She claimed the four-year probe--left inconclusive--damaged her professional reputation.
Microsoft has categorically denied the allegations.
Initially, Pai filed her civil suit in the Delhi High Court, but later withdrew it after Microsoft contested the court's territorial jurisdiction. She then refiled the matter in a Bengaluru court.
On June 9, Microsoft submitted to the trial court that it would preserve all relevant documents. The court took note of this assurance and directed Pai not to publicise Microsoft's undertaking or the court's order until further notice.
In response, Pai filed a writ petition before the High Court, challenging the restrictions placed on her.
Senior advocate Prabhuling K Navadgi and advocate IS Devaiah represented Pai, while senior advocate Dhyan Chinnappa and advocate Mohammed Shameer appeared for Microsoft in the High Court proceedings.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
FIDE Women's World Cup final: Humpy draws with Divya in first game
Batumi (Georgia), Jul 26 (PTI): Young Indian International Master Divya Deshmukh held her nerves to hold stalwart Koneru Humpy to a draw in game 1 of the FIDE Women's World Cup final, with both players having their share of opportunities to take the lead here on Saturday.
The draw with black means Humpy, the two-time World Rapid champion, holds a slight edge going in the second and final game under the classical chess rules in the two-game mini-match, and should the deadlock continue, games of shorter duration will be played to determine the winner.
Humpy employed the Queen's gambit accepted as black and it turned out to be a pretty fascinating game right out of the opening as Divya, 19, came up with a piece sacrifice early to deny the black king the right to castle.
Humpy was the first to err and, according to computers, Divya had things under control on the 14th move. However in her bid to recover the extra material, the Nagpur girl, who has secured a place in the Candidates tournament with her sterling performance here, missed a promising continuation.
What followed the exchange of all minor pieces and the ensuing queen and rook endgame gave enough counter play to both players. The game was eventually drawn after Humpy sacrificed her rook to force perpetual checks.
"The game saw an extremely sharp battle with the game ending in a draw in 41 moves. On move 7, Divya made her aggressive intentions clear by offering another pawn,
which looked like home preparation. Humpy made a practical decision of refraining from taking the pawn and a balanced position was reached by move 10 by white," said Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay, an Arjuna awardee and the first Indian to get a chess Grandmaster norm.
"However, instead of developing the undeveloped Knight, Humpy retreated the centralised Knight on move 10, giving huge positional advantage to Divya. Divya could have gained huge positional advantage on the 12th move by moving a rook. However, she chose to play for King side attack by sacrificing a piece instead.
"Humpy, too, erred at this stage and instead of moving the King to Queen side, moved it to the King side. Divya, on move 14, could have obtained a crushing attack by threatening a mate by developing her Queen. Instead she chose to exchange a pair of Bishops first, which enabled Humpy to defend her King by returning the piece," said Thipsay.
"Players thus reached a balanced Queen and two Rooks ending. Divya continued to play ambitiously and tried to attack Humpy’s King but the latter defended accurately and the game was drawn in 41 moves by perpetual check," he added.
In the play-off for the third place, Chinese players Zhongyi Tan, the former women's world champion and top seed Lei Tingjie also decided to split points out of a Queen’s gambit declined game.
The opening raised visions of a close contest between the two but having been knocked out of title race in the previous round, none of them wanted to take any huge risk. It was still a middle game when the players shook hands.
With the top two positions sealed for the Indians, the berth to the next Candidates is also assigned, while the player finishing third will also get an entry to the premier event scheduled for 2026.
Results: Divya Deshmukh (Ind) drew with Koneru Humpy (Ind); Zhongyi Tan (Chn) drew with Tingjie Lei (Chn).
