SC bars Karnataka police from taking coercive steps against shuttler Lakshya Sen
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday barred Karnataka Police from taking any coercive steps against badminton player Lakshya Sen, his family members, and coach over allegations of forging birth certificates.
A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K Vinod Chandran issued notice to the Karnataka government and the complainant M G Nagaraj who alleged birth certificates of Sen and his brother Chirag Sen were forged.
The top court was hearing a plea challenging February 19 order of the Karnataka High Court which rejected the petitions filed by Sen, his family members, and his coach U Vimal Kumar.
The high court ruled there was prima facie evidence warranting an investigation into the case.
The case stems from a private complaint filed by Nagaraj, who alleged Sen's parents Dhirendra and Nirmala Sen, along with his brother, coach, and an employee of the Karnataka Badminton Association, were involved in falsifying the birth records.
According to the complaint, the accused allegedly manipulated the birth certificates of the Sen brothers, reducing their age by approximately two-and-a-half years.
The alleged forgery was intended to allow them to participate in age-restricted badminton tournaments and avail government benefits.
Nagaraj supported his claims with documents obtained under RTI Act and requested the court to summon original records from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in New Delhi. Based on this evidence, the court directed the High Grounds police station to conduct an investigation.
Following the court's directive, the police registered an FIR under Sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery), and 471 (using forged documents as genuine) of IPC.
However, the petitioners moved the Karnataka High Court in 2022, securing an interim order that stalled the investigation.
The petitioners argued that the complaint and subsequent FIR were baseless, motivated, and intended to harass them.
They alleged Nagaraj was acting out of personal vendetta, claiming his daughter had applied to join the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in 2020 but was not selected after the evaluation process. Kumar, a coach at the academy, was named in the complaint.
The high court, while dismissing the petitions, observed that the petitioners' counsel did not present arguments despite being given sufficient opportunities and refused more time.
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KSRTC to run 1000 special services to clear Christmas rush
Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation will operate 1000 additional special services in view of the Christmas festival.
In addition to the existing schedule, the special services will run on 19.12.2025, 20.12.2025 and 24.12.2025. Further, special buses will be operated from various places of intra & Interstate places to Bengaluru on 26.12.2025 & 28.12.2025.
Special buses will be exclusively operated from Bengaluru Kempegowda Bus Station to Dharmastala, Kukkesubramanya, Shivamogga, Hassan, Mangaluru, Kundapura, Shringeri, Horanadu, Davangere, Hubbali, Dharwad, Belagavi, Vijayapura, Gokarna, Sirsi, Karwar, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Ballari, Koppala, Yadgir, Bidar, Tirupathi, Vijayawada, Hyderabad and other places.
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Special buses from Mysuru Road Bus Station will be exclusively operated towards Mysuru, Hunsur, Piriyapatna, Virajpet, Kushalanagar, Madikeri.
The corporation has also announced a discount of 5 per cent on the fare if four or more passengers book tickets under a single reservation. A discount of 10 per cent will be extended on return journey tickets if onward and return tickets are booked simultaneously.
In addition to the above, special buses will be operated from all Taluk/District Bus Stands in the jurisdiction of KSRTC based on the traffic needs.
