'Time to send an IAS officer to jail': Karnataka HC over officers not following court orders
Bengaluru(PTI): Expressing displeasure that government officials were not following the orders of the High Court, a division bench of the Karnataka HC on Monday made an observation that "it's time an IAS officer is sent to jail".
A single-judge bench ordered the state on July 19, 2021 to issue a notification within two months of a draft amendment rules regarding merging Group-C with Group-B jobs in the various municipalities of the state.
An employees association of the Karnataka city municipality workers had filed a contempt petition as the single judge order was not followed.
The matter came up for hearing on May 31, 2022 but the state government had failed to issue the notification.
The HC had posted the hearing to June 6 and directed Additional Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh of the Urban Development Department and M S Archana, director of Municipal Administration to be present.
On Monday, both the officers were present before the division bench of the court headed by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi.
Additional Advocate General Dhyan Chinnappa informed the court that the draft rules have been framed and notified on June 3. Objections can be filed within 15 days. An affidavit stating this was submitted to the court.
The court recorded the submission and adjourned the case by six weeks. The court also directed that the officers should be present in court on the next date of hearing too.
During the hearing on Monday, the court observed that officers were not taking court orders seriously. It was because they were summoned to court that the court order was followed to an extent.
The HC said "it is time an IAS officer is sent to jail", as it made no secret of its displeasure about the behaviour of government officers not following court orders.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
