SC pulls up Karnataka for seeking Rs 15 lakh for Ma’adani’s escort

Agencies
August 3, 2017

Bengaluru, Aug 3: The Supreme Court has pulled up Karnataka government for raising a bill of about Rs 15 lakh for police escort, accompanying Kerala's People Democratic Party leader Abdul Naser Ma’adani on his visit to home state for attending son's marriage.

"Is this the way you carry out the orders of the Supreme Court? Don't scuttle these things. We expect some seriousness on the part of the state," a bench of Justices S A Bobde and L Nageswara Rao told Karnataka standing counsel Joseph Aristotle.

"Why you want to make it impossible," the bench further asked the state.

Advocates Prashant Bhushan and Haris Beeran, representing Maudany, submitted that the apex court's order of July 31 for allowing him to visit Kerala was sought to be frustrated by the state government. They said the state raised a demand of Rs 15 lakh from Maudany for providing him escort during his stay over there from August 2 to 14.

They also questioned huge posse of policemen, 19 in number, in the escort.

Karnataka counsel, for his part, maintained that the amount charged on Ma’adani was as per 1991 circular. He contended that the state had already spent Rs 6 crore on Ma’adani.

The court, however, pointed out these policemen were otherwise being paid salary. The state can only charge to the extent of TA/DA.

The bench granted time till Friday to the state counsel to take instructions on the issue.

During the hearing, the court also came down heavily on Kerala government counsel G Prakash as he expressed readiness of the state to provide security to Ma’adani during his stay.

"You don't have anything to do with it. He is in custody of Karnataka police," the bench told him.

The court had on July 31 allowed Ma’adani to visit his home state to attend his son's wedding. However, it had refused to alter the direction to bear the cost of police escort by him.

51-year-old Ma’adani, facing trial in the 2008 Bengaluru serial blasts case, challenged the city court's order of July 24, declining him to attend son's marriage functions between August 8 to 20. Though the trial court allowed him to visit his ailing mother between August 1 and 7, it refused the permission to attend the marriage function scheduled on August 9.

The Bengaluru court told him to bear cost of police escort, which, petitioner claimed, would be around Rs 20 lakh.

Ma’adani sought permission to visit Thallasery, Ernakulum and Kollam to attend various functions, ceremonies and reception of his son's wedding.

Comments

Khader
 - 
Thursday, 3 Aug 2017

How many years they will crusify him. If he did crime then punish or leave him free. There are some human rights should get even for a criminal

Hari
 - 
Thursday, 3 Aug 2017

Siddu wants to loot money by telling Ma'adani's escort

Sangeeth
 - 
Thursday, 3 Aug 2017

No need of spending this much money. Just arrange to get DVD of his son's wedding and wedding day food also serve to him in jail. 

Vivek
 - 
Thursday, 3 Aug 2017

PDP fools tried to make hartal to protest. They miserably failed and abandoned hartal try

Gokul
 - 
Thursday, 3 Aug 2017

Why govt wasting money for this kind of criminals. Should kill those people soon after their arrest

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News Network
January 17,2025

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Mangaluru, Jan 17: A heart-wrenching accident at Nadupadavu near Kattukodi on the outskirts of the city claimed the life of a young scooter rider this morning. 

The victim, identified as Abubakar Siddiq Razwi (22), son of Moydeen Kunji Bavu and a resident of Nadupadavu, tragically succumbed to his injuries on the spot.

The accident occurred when a scooter traveling from Deralakatte collided with an Ace Tempo heading from Mudipu to Thokkottu.

Abubakar, a final-year student at an Arabic Shariah College in Kasargod, leaves behind a community in mourning. The tempo driver also sustained injuries in the collision.

The Mangaluru South Traffic Police have registered a case and are conducting an investigation into the incident.

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News Network
January 24,2025

Bengaluru, Jan 24: The BJP has sparked controversy by opposing a meeting between Muslim community leaders and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, where increased budgetary allocations for minorities were discussed. The BJP labeled the demands as "religion-based budgeting," accusing the Congress-led government of minority appeasement.

Amit Malviya, head of the BJP’s National Information and Technology Department, claimed on social media platform X, “This kind of Muslim assertion and religion-based demands led to India’s partition along religious lines in 1947. We can’t afford it again.”

The meeting, attended by Ministers Rahim Khan, Zameer Ahmed Khan, and Siddaramaiah's Political Secretary Naseer Ahmed, focused on enhanced funding for minority welfare. Malviya criticized it as a "brazen display of minority appeasement," alleging that the Congress was catering to its vote bank in return for support.

The Congress government allocated Rs 3,000 crore for minority welfare in its 2024-25 State Budget, drawing fire from opposition parties. However, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar defended the allocation, stating, “In a Rs 3.71 lakh crore budget, can’t we allocate even 1 per cent for Muslims? This funding supports schools and development programs. What’s wrong with that?”

Meanwhile, BJP and JD(S) leaders accused the Congress government of sidelining Hindus while failing to address pressing issues like rising crime and fiscal mismanagement. Karnataka Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka criticized the government for planning to borrow Rs 1 lakh crore to fund its "five guarantee" schemes and other initiatives, questioning the state's development progress.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is set to present the 2025-26 State Budget in March, which is expected to cross Rs 4 lakh crore, marking his 16th budget as Finance Minister. The Congress government faces growing opposition from BJP leaders, who claim its policies prioritize appeasement over governance.

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News Network
January 17,2025

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Bengaluru: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar asserted on Friday that the opening of "long-in-waiting" US consulate in Bengaluru was the "very important milestone" in the bilateral ties and urged the American authorities to ensure that the mission starts visa operations at the earliest.

"This will be my number one talking point with Secretary (of State Nominee Marco) Rubio when I go and see him. The sooner we get it done, the better it is," said Jaishankar.

The External Minister was in Bengaluru today to attend the "site dedication ceremony" of the fifth United States consulate in India, which will start operating in Bengaluru soon.

Delivering his speech, Eric Garcetti, US Ambassador to India, said the consulate in Bengaluru will not be offering visa services for the time being.

In his speech, Jaishankar pointed to statistics to nudge the US to get around to issuing visas from Bengaluru as early as possible.

"I was checking figures, and was very glad to see that last year, the RPO (Regional Passport Office) Bengaluru issued 8,83,000 passports. That's just for one year. Do the math, and you will see how important it is to ensure that travel is smooth," added Jaishankar.

He also added that there are three flights every week from here to San Francisco. "Hopefully, if Boeing and Airbus deliver, there'd be more. I think that's a legitimate expectation," said Jaishankar.

Jaishankar said a US consulate in Bengaluru has been "long-in-waiting".

"One, which I believe, Bengaluru legitimately deserved and expected," he added.

"I think Bengaluru has such an important place that it was for me an imperative that there is a permanent resident presence of American diplomats here," said Jaishankar.

He also said every time he had visited the city in the last five years, there was always somebody who would ask him, 'so, when is that consulate coming?'.

"It was from, really, I would say, the cross section of the society. It was from businessmen; it was from the tech world; it was from academics. It was even from people you would meet in a restaurant," added Jaishankar.

According to him, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2023 had brought up the issue of opening a consulate in Bengaluru when he visited the US.

He also said India had promised to open a consulate in Los Angeles if the United States "get the Bengaluru consulate done". He said now, with the opening of the consulate, collaborations in defence and education would reach new heights.

"I think the formal opening of this consulate is one more sign that we are overcoming the hesitations of history. It is now within our grasp, within the realm of possibility, that we realise more fully the potential of India-US relations. And I think it is important that Bengaluru too realises its potential in the relationship," said Jaishankar.

In his address, US Ambassador Garcetti, who would be relinquishing his responsibility in India soon, said he was glad that getting a consulate up and running in Bengaluru would be his last task in India.

"You know, our relationship in India is not new. Our second consulate in the world was here in India. After the independence of a new America in 1776, we opened a consulate in Lyon, France, and then the second was in Kolkata, showing, back then, the importance of India to a new American nation," said Garcetti.

India, said Garcetti, is now the second largest mission of America anywhere in the world.

"It produces the second most visas, the most students we're breaking records every single year '“record employees, record visas, record students, record military exercises, record engagement from the seabed to space," added Garcetti.

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who was also present during the "site dedication ceremony" said the opening of the consulate in Bengaluru is a testament to the growing importance of Karnataka in the global stage.

"Nowadays, the world is looking at India through Bengaluru. We know there are a lot of hiccups there, as Bengaluru is not a well-planned city. But still the city has proved itself to be the safest city in the entire country for the global firms to have their headquarters," said Shivakumar.

Other dignitaries present for the ceremony include MP Tejasvi Surya, Karnataka's Minister for Large & Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development M B Patil, Minister for IT & BT Priyank Kharge.

Several entrepreneurs from the city, including Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, executive chairperson and founder of Biocon Limited and Biocon Biologics Limited, had also attended the 'site dedication ceremony'.

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