Two BJP MLAs defy party decision to stage walk-out from Karnataka Assembly
Belagavi (Karnataka), Dec 13: Two BJP MLAs S T Somashekhar and Shivaram Hebbar on Friday defied the party's decision and stay put in the Legislative Assembly, when all other saffron party legislators staged a walkout.
BJP members staged a walkout from the Assembly as ruling Congress members allegedly tried to obstruct Leader of Opposition R Ashoka from raising the Waqf issue.
Some Congress MLAs led by P M Narendraswamy sought to raise some cases against BJP MLA N Munirathna.
Soon after the zero hour, Speaker U T Khader allowed Ashoka to raise the Waqf issue. At this point Narendraswamy, Nayana Motamma, and few others demanded that they be allowed to raise Munirathna issue, accusing him of making casteist slur. They said "it cannot be tolerated."
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Meanwhile, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda also requested that he be allowed to make a statement on the rains and damages caused by it in the state.
Angered by this conduct of the ruling party, Ashoka along with all other BJP members staged a walkout making comments targeting the government.
Somashekhar remained seated in his seat when all other BJP MLAs walked out, later Hebbar too joined him.
Somashekhar and Hebbar are seen as "rebels" in the party for some time now.
At the recent state BJP core committee meeting it was decided to take action against both Somashekhar and Hebbar, either by suspending them and moving for their disqualification as MLAs immediately, in consultation with the high command.
Later BJP members came back to attend House proceedings, and discussion was allowed on Waqf issue.
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Delhi HC asks Jaideep Sengar to surrender in Unnao custodial death case
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Friday asked Jaideep Sengar, brother of Unnao rape case convict Kuldeep Sengar, to surrender before jail authorities in connection with his conviction in the custodial death case of the survivor's father.
A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja was hearing a plea by the convict for further extension of interim bail upon suspension of the 10-year sentence.
It observed that the interim bail granted to Jaideep Sengar in July 2024 was last extended in April 2025 and since then, in spite of five dates, no order of any further extension or suspension of his sentence has been passed by the court.
As the senior counsel for Jaideep Sengar urged the bench to extend the period of his release on account of his health, the bench said, "You surrender and then we will see."
"Although there is no extension of interim suspension of sentence granted, we find he has still not surrendered. Before we proceed to consider his application for further extension of suspension of sentence, we require the appellant to first surrender," the bench ordered.
The senior counsel for Jaideep Sengar assured the court that he would surrender by Saturday.
The court listed the matter for hearing next week.
Jaideep Sengar, 50, sought the bail extension on the grounds that he is suffering from oral cancer.
The Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) counsel had earlier said it was not a fit case for extension of interim bail, and the prescription given by Jaideep Sengar in support of his plea was fabricated.
In his application, Jaideep Sengar said he was suffering from stage IV oral cancer, a life-threatening condition, and had developed clinical signs of recurrence.
The condition, the plea said, required continuous and specialised medical care.
The plea also informed that Jaideep Sengar has spent about four years in custody.
The high court had granted interim bail to Jaideep Sengar on July 3, 2024, for two months on medical grounds.
Kuldeep Sengar was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for the remainder of his life on December 20, 2019, for raping the minor in 2017.
On March 13, 2020, Kuldeep Sengar, along with Jaideep Sengar, was sentenced to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment by the trial court, which also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh, in the custodial death case of the rape survivor's father.
The survivor's father was arrested, allegedly at the behest of the accused, under the Arms Act and died in custody on April 9, 2018, owing to police brutality.
The trial court said no leniency could be shown for killing a family's sole breadwinner.
