Legendary cricketer Madhav Apte dies
Mumbai: Veteran cricketer Madhav Apte died after suffering a cardiac arrest here on Monday morning, a family member said. He was 86.
The former India and Mumbai opener was admitted to the Breach Candy Hospital where he breathed his last at 6.09 am, his son Vaman Apte told PTI. Madhav Apte played seven Tests in which he scored 542 runs, with a lone hundred and three fifties to his credit. His highest score was 163 not out.
He had a much better first class record where he scored 3,336 runs from 67 matches, including six hundreds and 16 fifties. His highest first class score was 165 not out.
He made his Test debut against Pakistan at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) in Mumbai in November 1952 and played his last test against West Indies at Kingston in April 1953.
In his debut Test, he made 30 and 10 not out, respectively.
He was the first Indian opener to aggregate over 400 runs in a Test series (460 runs against West Indies in 1953). He also captained Mumbai in domestic cricket.
Madhav Apte was assigned as the opening batsman by legendary Vinoo Mankad. He played along with several legendary cricketers, including Mankad, Polly Umrigar, Vijay Hazare and Rusi Modi.
He earlier also served as president of the iconic CCI, an official said. Till his last breath, he was president of the 'Legends Club', a group formed to celebrate the achievements of different sportspersons. Former Mumbai cricketer Shishir Hattangadi took to Twitter to offer his condolences.
"Another institution of Bombay and Mumbai Cricket comes to an end. RIP Madhav Rao Apte. Will treasure those long discussions with you cricket from your days!" he tweeted.
"Madhav Apte had a bag of stories. From Vinoo Mankad to his buddy Subhya Fergie Gupte. To listen to him was rewinding cricket history. Dignified affable yet accessible as senior. Passing Pedder Road and Woodland Apartments each time will bring back memories with a smile.#RIP, Hattangadi said in another tweet.
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Savarkar remarks: Rahul Gandhi appears in Pune court via video link in defamation case, gets bail
Pune, Jan 10: A special court in Pune on Friday granted bail to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case related to his alleged objectionable remarks on Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar.
The MP/MLA court granted bail to the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha on a surety bond of Rs 25,000 after he appeared before it through video conferencing, his lawyer said.
Senior Congress leader Mohan Joshi stood as surety for Gandhi (54) before the court presided over by Amol Shinde, judicial magistrate (first class) and special judge for MP/MLA cases.
Advocate Milind Pawar, representing Gandhi, said soon after his client appeared before the court, they moved a bail application.
The judge allowed the plea and granted bail to the former Congress president on a surety bond of Rs 25000, he informed.
The advocate said the court also granted permanent exemption to the Lok Sabha MP from Rae Bareli from appearing before it.
The case was filed on a complaint by V D Savarkar's grandnephew Satyaki, who alleged Gandhi had made defamatory remarks against the Hindutva icon at a programme he attended in London in March 2023.
Earlier, advocate Sangram Kolhatkar, representing Satyaki Savarkar, objected to Gandhi's application seeking virtual appearance.
There was no provision that allows an accused to appear in court through video conferencing before securing bail, Kolhatkar argued.
The court, however, permitted Gandhi to attend the proceedings online.
Wearing a bottle green sweater, the Congress MP appeared before the court and stated his name when the judge asked for it.
The matter will be next heard on February 18.
As per the complaint, Gandhi, while speaking at the London event, stated that Savarkar had written in a book that he and five to six of his friends once beat up a Muslim man and he (Savarkar) felt happy.
According to the complaint, the freedom fighter had not written this anywhere and the Congress leader's remarks were aimed at defaming him.
At the time, the court had asked the Pune police to investigate the allegations and file a report.
The Vishrambaug police, after an inquiry, submitted that there was prima facie truth in the complaint.
Gandhi had skipped the previous court appearance on December 2 citing the winter session of Parliament which he was attending.
His lawyer Pawar had then assured that the opposition parliamentarian will appear in the court on January 10.
