Reports claim Siddaramaiah "gifted" Benz car, Congress denies
Bengaluru, Jan 20: Amid the political turbulence in Karnataka, former chief minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah found himself in a fresh controversy after media reports emerged that he had been "gifted" a Mercedes-Benz car by his party legislator.
The car claimed to be worth over Rs 1.5 crore was allegedly "gifted" by Byrathi Suresh, an agriculturist-cum industrialist and a realtor who is one of the richest politicians in Karnataka.
Suresh had declared assets of Rs 416 crore in the affidavit filed by him for the 2017 May assembly polls.
Latching on to the reports, the state BJP questioned Siddaramaiah and accused him of having "made enough and more money" during his "10 per cent government".
The 10 per cent barb refers to alleged commission that the party claimed used to be paid during Siddaramaiah's chief ministership.
"Congress MLA Byrathi Suresh gifts Sri @siddaramaiah a Mercedes-Benz car worth 1.5 crore.Wears spectacle costing 2 Lakh. Wore 80 lakh worth hublot watch. Siddaramaiah vere looks like you have made enough & more money during your 10% govt, " the state BJP tweeted.
Refuting media reports, Congress leader and minister D K Shivakumar said Siddaramaiah has not been gifted the car by Suresh, but given for his traveling purposes.
"There is no gift or anything. We sometimes take our friends' vehicle to travel. There is no issue. Is there any record that he has received a gift or anything? Nothing, no record," he said.
In June 2018 also, Siddaramaiah was at the vortex of controversy after the then minister K J George allegedly gifted him Toyota Land Cruiser with fuel coupons for a year.
George, then, had deflected the charges by saying that he had lent the vehicle as Siddaramaiah was uncomfortable traveling long distances in his Innova car.
Earlier in February 2016, Siddaramaiah had been mired in controversy over a Rs 70 lakh worth diamond-studded Hublot watch gifted to him.
Siddaramaiah later handed over the watch to the then assembly Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa amid an uproar in the House, declaring it a state asset.
Both opposition BJP and JDS members had staged a dharna in the well of the House then.
Countering the allegations, Siddaramaiah had said the pre-owned "HUBLOT BIG BANG-301-M" wrist watch was presented to him by his Dubai-based NRI friend Dr Girish Chandra Varma in July last at Bengaluru as a personal gift.
Siddaramaiah also said Varma had no official dealings with Government of Karnataka or its organisations.
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Eleventh woman judge in SC history, Justice Bela M Trivedi bids adieu
New Delhi (PTI): Justice Bela M Trivedi, who was the eleventh woman judge to be elevated to the Supreme Court in its 75-year-old history on Friday demitted office after spending three-and-a-half years on the bench.
Justice Trivedi, who had the rare distinction of being elevated to the top court after starting out as a trial court judge in Gujarat in July 1995, was part of the top court's several landmark judgements.
"It was a happy coincidence that her father was already working as the judge, city civil and sessions court when she was appointed. The Limca Book of Indian records has recorded the entry in their 1996 edition that 'Father - daughter judges in the same court'," Justice Trivedi's profile on the apex court website said.
She was elevated as a judge of the apex court on August 31, 2021 when a record nine new judges, including three women, were administered oath of office.
On Friday, Justice Trivedi sat in the ceremonial bench headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai as a tradition marking the exit of a top court judge.
She was part of a five-judge Constitution bench, which by a 3:2 majority, in November 2022 upheld 10 per cent reservation introduced in 2019 for economically weaker sections in admissions and government jobs that excluded the poor among the SC/ST/OBC categories.
A seven-judge Constitution bench, which Justice Trivedi was part of, in August 2024 by a 6:1 majority held that states are constitutionally empowered to make sub-classifications within the Scheduled Castes, which form a socially heterogeneous class, for granting reservation for the uplift of castes that are socially and educationally more backward among them.
Justice Trivedi, in her 85-page dissenting verdict, said it is only Parliament which can include a caste in the SC list or exclude it, and states are not empowered to tinker with it.
A bench comprising Justice Trivedi in November 2021 said touching genitals of a child or any act involving physical contact with "sexual intent" amounts to sexual assault under Section 7 of the POCSO Act as the most important ingredient is sexual intent and not skin-to-skin contact.
It quashed the controversial "skin-to-skin" judgements of the Bombay High Court in two cases under the POCSO Act.
Justice Trivedi penned a verdict holding that the moratorium imposed under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code does not prohibit the attachment of properties under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act.
A bench headed by Justice Trivedi on May 15 paved way for a Uttar Pradesh government scheme to develop the Shri Banke Bihari Temple corridor in Mathura for the benefit of scores of devotees.
Born on June 10, 1960 at Patan in north Gujarat, she practised as a lawyer in the Gujarat High Court for about 10 years.
She was appointed as a judge, city civil and sessions court at Ahmedabad, on July 10, 1995.
She had worked on different posts like registrar vigilance in the high court and law secretary in the Government of Gujarat.
She was elevated as a judge of the Gujarat High Court on February 17, 2011.
Justice Trivedi was transferred to the Rajasthan High Court where she worked since June 2011 till she was repatriated to the parent high court in February 2016.
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