Students at NLS Bengaluru boycott semester exams in protest against administration

Protests

The Students Bar Association demands that the new Vice Chancellor be appointed as per norms without further delay.

Soumya Chatterjee

Many students of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru boycotted their end semester exams on Monday, continuing their protest against the existing ad-hoc administration. The end semester exams will be held until September 27. "We're boycotting the exams because the members of the admin are trying to stop the due process of law from taking its natural course," Hamza Traiq, Student Bar Association President said. The NLSUI campus has over 500 students enrolled.    According to sources, around 15 students sat for the exams which started at 10am on Monday and was set to conclude at 1 pm. Students that TNM spoke to claim those who wrote the exam are those with backlogs, who had no other option as they would lose a year if they didn’t. The students as part of the protest formed human chains sitting on the floor across the corridors and staircase of the academic block. Read: NLSIU Bengaluru students demand that V-C be appointed at the earliest TNM had earlier reported that the exam boycott was planned by the Student Bar Association (SBA) as part of the ongoing protest. While protests have been going on for a week, students boycotted classes on Friday and Saturday.    The students have been voicing their dissent for over a week against the inordinate delay in the appointment of a full-time Vice-Chancellor (V-C). While the position fell vacant when the previous Vice-Chancellor R Venkata Rao completed his term of 10 years on July 31, his successor had been named on August 2 following due procedure. Students allege that the present registrar OV Nandimath who was one of the applicants for the V-C post and is a vital part of the existing framework is acting in vested interest to stall the process.   Read: Why law students in the prestigious NLS Bengaluru are threatening to skip exams The students have also been protesting against some of the decisions taken by the current administration which they term anti-students. Recently the students were told that the academic block will be shut at 10 pm when it was open 24x7 until this point.  The current administration has also allegedly tried to reduce the budgets of institutionally-run student bodies which organise seminars and conferences, the students said. While until now, facilities like accommodation for judges and other legal luminaries were borne by the university, the administration now wants to charge the student bodies for the same, allege students. 

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18-year-old shot in leg allegedly by Youth Congress leader during clash in Mangaluru

Controversy

Youth Congress leader Suhail Kandak got into an argument with local residents and allegedly fired a gun in the direction of the crowd on Sunday night in Ullal.

Harsha Raj Gatty

Tense moments in Ullal, Mangaluru arose on Sunday night after Youth Congress leader Suhail Kandak allegedly fired rounds of bullets, and injured a local youth in the melee. According to the police officials, the incident was in retaliation to a remark made against Suhail by a local resident. According to the residents, a few men drove themselves into the residential lane of KK Nagar near Mukkachery in Ullal on Sunday night. “One person (later identified as Suhail Kandak) got down from the car and unprovoked, he started firing bullets in the air. The locals, who came out of their homes, got into an argument with the car occupants for creating ruckus and asked them to leave,” the police official said. However, when Suhail and his group refused to leave the area, the police alleged that the irate residents, who eventually swelled in number, were furious and intimidated the group with wooden bats and sticks and in the process damaged the car as well. It was in this moment that Suhail, who identified himself as the state general secretary of the Youth Congress (Karnataka), pointed the gun towards the direction of the crowd and allegedly started firing, according to police.  “He shot three rounds on the second occasion and a bullet hit the leg of 18-year old Irshad, who is a KK Nagar resident and was present at the scene,” the police officials said. Eventually, outnumbered by the crowd, Suhail and his group retreated and fled from the area. Speaking to TNM, a jurisdictional Mangalore (Ullal) police station official said that they have identified and arrested the other occupants of the vehicle. “However Suhail and car driver Basheer, who were injured in the commotion have been admitted to a local hospital. We have deployed Armed Reserve police along with the local officials in Ullal to maintain law and order,” he said. Suhail has not been formally detained as yet since he is undergoing treatment, according to police.  Police said that they have recovered the gun and the bullet cartridges from the scene of crime and are determining whether Suhail has a valid licence. They also added that a probe is underway to find out whether Irshad, who had sustained bullet injuries, was the target or was a bystander who was caught in firing. According to the police at present, both parties — Suhail and the locals residents — have filed counter-complaints against each other, and will further probe to get more details on the matter. (This is a developing story) Story by Story Infinity (Subs and Scribes Media Ventures LLP.)

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MLA Byrati Suresh responsible for death of Siddaramaiah’s son, alleges MTB Nagaraj

Politics

The disqualified MLA insinuated this after the announcement of bye-elections on October 21.

TNM Staff

MTB Nagaraj, the disqualified MLA from Hosakote, made a controversial statement on Sunday targeting Hebbal legislator Byrati Suresh. Nagaraj claimed that Suresh was responsible for the death of the son of former Chief Minister of Karnataka and Congress stalwart Siddaramaiah. According to reports, Nagaraj claimed that Byrati Suresh encouraged the ‘bad habits’ of Siddaramaiah’s son Rakesh Siddaramaiah which led to his death. “He (Suresh) is a bacha in politics. Suresh is the prime reason behind Siddaramaiah’s son’s demise. He was the one who spoilt Rakesh. Siddaramaiah’s son would have lived for years had he not gotten mixed up in the wrong company of Suresh,” said Nagaraj speaking to the media. The controversial allegations come after speculations arose that Byrati’s Suresh’s wife Padmavati, would be contesting for the Congress in the upcoming elections from the Hosakote seat. Last week, it was announced that bye-elections are scheduled to be held in Karnataka on October 21. Rakesh Siddaramaiah died in July 2016 at the age of 39, after suffering from multi-organ failure at a hospital in Belgaum. He was said to be a close friend of Byrati Suresh. Suresh has responded to the allegations by stating that Rakesh was like a brother to him and that Nagaraj merely feared losing his deposit if the former’s wife did contest from Hosakote. A total of 15 seats will go to the polls on October 21 and votes will be counted on October 24. The last date to complete the elections is October 27, while the last date to file nominations is September 30. Gokak, Athani, Ranebennur, Kagwad, Hirekerur, Yellapur, Yeshwanthpura, Vijayanagara, Shivajinagar, Hosakote, Hunsur, Krishnarajpet, Mahalakshmi Layout, KR Puram and Chikballapura are the constituencies which will be going to the polls on October 21. As many as 17 rebel MLAs were disqualified until the end of the current Assembly term (in 2023) by former Karnataka Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar.

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K’taka man bludgeons live-in partner to death with gas cylinder over suspected affair

Crime

A court has remanded him to judicial custody while the woman’s body has been handed over to her relatives.

TNM Staff

In an extremely gruesome incident which has come to light from Karnataka, a 30-year-old man killed his 26-year-old live-in partner in front of the latter’s young child. According to reports Venkatagiriyappa, a native of Mulabagal in Kolar district was residing in KR Puram in Bengaluru along with his lover Shashikala and her 3-year-old daughter from a previous marriage. Shashikala’s husband had died eight years back and she and Venkatagiriyappa had been staying in KR Puram for the past eight months, posing as a married couple. It was reported that Venkatagiriyappa himself is married and has children, but is estranged from his family. On Wednesday night, Venkatagiriyappa first assaulted Shashikala after suspecting that she was having an affair. Neighbours of the couple tried to intervene and calm him down. However, on Saturday night at around 2am, as the child was sleeping, he assaulted Shashikala again. The noise attracted the attention of neighbours who tried once again to help, however as the house was locked from inside, they could not get in. According to reports, the neighbours also saw Venkatagiriyappa attempt to strangle Shashikala. "Venkatagiriyappa rushed to the kitchen and Shashikala tried to walk towards the main door to open it. But before she could reach the door, he brought the LPG cylinder from the kitchen and hit her with it. She fell on the floor and he smashed her head with the cylinder,” said one police official to TOI. At around 3am, the landlord Rayappa and appalled neighbours informed the KR Puram police who subsequently came and arrested Venkatagiriyappa. It was only after questioning him that he revealed that he and Shashikala were not married. A court has remanded him to judicial custody while Shashikala’s body has been handed over to her relatives. 

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Why law students in the prestigious NLS Bengaluru are threatening to skip exams

Controversy

The dispute between the students and the administration over the post of Vice Chancellor of the university has taken a new turn.

Soumya Chatterjee

Students of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru have intensified their stir against the present administration over the post of the Vice Chancellor (V-C) of the university. Over Friday and Saturday all classes including those for post-graduate courses were cancelled as students boycotted classes as a mark of protest. Now, students have threatened to boycott their semester exams that are set to start on Monday.  At the heart of the matter is the appointment of the Vice Chancellor of the university. On July 31, R Venkata Rao completed his 10 year term. As per procedure, a high-level committee appointed by the Chief Justice of India – who is the Chancellor of the law university – had identified a successor even before Venkata Rao’s term ended. The three-member consisting of MP Singh (distinguished Jurist), KK Venugopal (Attorney General for India) and Arvind Datar (senior advocate) had named NLSIU alumnus and Azim Premji professor Sudhir Krishnaswamy as Vankata Rao’s successor, and this was officially announced on August 2 this year. However, the university decided to bring in a professor named MK Ramesh as “Additional V-C” and did not appoint Sudhir Krishnaswamy.  The Student Bar Association (SBA) has alleged that this is because the man in charge of making administrative appointments – Registrar OV Nandimath – had himself applied for the V-C’s post, and had lost out to Sudhir Krishnaswamy. Nandimath was one of the 16 applicants for the V-C’s post. The student body had pointed at a potential conflict of interest for Nandimath being an applicant for the post of V-C himself, as he is the person carrying out the procedural formalities for the appointment of V-C. Students alleged that the Registrar is acting with “malafide intention” to delay the process. In a statement, the SBA on Sunday said, “Unfortunately, our attempts have not borne any results and have only met with apathy and disregard. The Student Body was told that they are not important stakeholders in the administrative functioning or the appointment of the next Vice Chancellor of the very university they are a part of.” “Through a series of General Body Meetings, the Student Body was made aware of issues such as the conflict of interest that existed vis-à-vis the Registrar, the reasons for the delay in appointment, the alteration in the composition of the Executive Council from its previous session inter alia. The change in the composition of the Executive Council is particularly worrying as it may further delay the appointment process,” the statement said.  There were sit-in protests outside Registrar Nandimath’s office as well over the last two days.  Students allege the present administration has been passing anti-student resolutions, sometimes without even issuing circulars. Recently the students were told that the academic block will be shut at 10 pm when it was open 24x7 until this point.  More importantly, the current admins have tried to reduce the budgets of institutionally-run student bodies which organise seminars and conferences, the students said. While until now, facilities like accommodation for judges and other legal luminaries were borne by the university, the administration now wants to charge the student bodies exorbitant for the same.  Students said that these student committees would have budgets to the tune of Rs 30,000-Rs 70,000 and with these new rules, they would be forced to curtail the number of events from seven or eight in a year to just one or two.

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Victims of over 6 halal ponzi schemes in Bengaluru await action, approach DC

Crime

It has been more than a year since the cases against six other ponzi schemes scams were registered, but no action has been taken yet.

Soumya Chatterjee

While probe against Bengaluru-based ponzi schemes such as IMA and Ambidant have seen some progress after the arrest of the high-profile accused, victims of at least six other such fraud companies are awaiting action by the authorities. It has been more than a year since the cases against ponzi schemes like Injaz, Muzaribah, Aala, Burraq, Morgenall and Nafiya were registered but till date, there has been no appointment of a competent authority for a probe, as mandated by the Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors (KPID) Act. These competent authorities, usually of the rank of Assistant Commissioner or above, can sell the seized assets of these companies and distribute the money among the victims proportionately. Till date, only Ajmera, Ambidant and IMA ponzi schemes have seen competent authorities appointed. Notably, in the IMA case, the state government has appointed Bangalore Regional Commissioner Harsh Gupta as the competent authority, as directed by the Karnataka High Court.  While in the IMA case, Harsh Gupta has petitioned the high court to seek online claims from the victims for the refund process just within two months, the competent authorities for Ambidant and Ajmera have not done anything. Activists and victims under the aegis of ‘LanchaMukta Karnataka,’ who have been uniting the victims on Thursday met Bengaluru District Commissioner K Srinivas and asked for the prompt appointment of competent authorities for other six cases.  They have cited Section 3(1) of the KPID Act in their plea, which gives power to District Commissioner to take suo motu action and get a competent authority appointed. Incidentally, the previous DC, BM Vijay Shankar has been arrested in the IMA case for allegedly accepting bribes from the company. “The probe into the IMA case has gained pace, despite a pathetic seizure of assets, and the Competent Authority has even filed a case in a special court seeking permission for the online acceptance of claim forms from victims. However, the victims of other ponzi companies have got a raw deal, where for over a year, even the competent authority has not been appointed,” Narendra Kumar, State Joint Secretary, LanchaMukta Karnataka, said. The group has also petitioned the Karnataka High Court over the swift refund of money for the victims.  

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Time is running out for Karnataka's disqualified MLAs, their hopes pinned on SC

Politics

Disqualified MLAs, who approached the Supreme Court, hope that a verdict will be delivered in their favour ahead of the last date to file nominations.

Prajwal Bhat

The Election Commission's announcement confirming bye-elections in 15 Assembly constituencies in Karnataka on October 21 has come as a nasty blow to the disqualified MLAs who were hopeful of contesting the bye-elections.  The resignations of the rebel MLAs, who were later disqualified, preceded the fall of the coalition government led by former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy in July. Then Karnataka Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar disqualified as many as 17 rebel MLAs (including all 15 MLAs in constituencies where bye-elections were announced) till the end of the current Assembly term running from 2018 to 2023. This set the stage for the BJP to form the government in the state. The disqualified leaders approached the Supreme Court to quash their disqualification but Justice MM Shantanagoudar, who was presiding over the case, recused himself earlier this week citing that he is from Karnataka and that his conscience is not permitting him to hear the case.  This means that the clock is ticking for the 15 disqualified MLAs who were hoping for a favourable verdict from the Supreme Court since they wanted to contest the bye-elections. The last date for parties to file nominations for the bye-elections is September 30, just nine days from now.  "I welcome the announcement of bye-elections but we are expecting a judgement from the court on Monday or Tuesday. We will discuss what we will do in the future based on the court's decision," former Mahalakshmi Layout MLA Gopalaiah told TNM. He added that the disqualified MLAs are ready to face the bye-elections. Similar views were expressed by disqualified MLAs MTB Nagaraj and Munirathna while speaking to the media after the announcement of the bye-elections.  The turn of events puts the BJP in a predicament while finalising candidates ahead of the bye-elections, as it had reportedly promised cabinet berths to a few of the rebel MLAs . The party is under pressure to win at least six of the 15 bye-elections. This is because the BJP presently has the support of 106 MLAs including independent MLA H Nagesh. The party will need to win six more seats to reach the majority mark (112) in the 222-member Assembly. The party is also yet to name a full-cabinet and sources say that the party is waiting to allot ministries to disqualified MLAs after they join the BJP and contest the bye-elections.  Party officials speaking to TNM said that this will help the party secure a majority in the full Assembly. "We welcome the elections. BJP is well prepared to contest in all 15 constituencies and win in the election. This gives a chance to win a majority number of seats in the full Assembly, which in turn will help us finalise the cabinet expansion", a BJP official told TNM.  When asked about the fate of the disqualified MLAs, the same official said, "The party will take a decision on the disqualified MLAs if they are allowed to contest and if the court gives them relief". If the Supreme Court does not give them immediate relief, these former MLAs will not be able to contest elections.   The fate of the rebel MLAs makes little difference to the JD(S) and Congress' plans for the bye-elections. Leaders from both parties said that the timing of the elections has come as a surprise to them as they did not expect it to take place as early as October.  The JD(S) has made it clear that there will be no alliance between them for the bye-elections. This was confirmed by former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda earlier this week and the message was reiterated by the party's official social media accounts on Saturday.    ಅಕ್ಟೋಬರ್ 21, 2019 ರಂದು ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ 15 ವಿಧಾನಸಭಾ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳಿಗೆ ಉಪಚುನಾವಣೆ ನಡೆಯಲಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಚುನಾವಣಾ ಆಯೋಗ ಘೋಷಿಸಿದೆ. ಎಲ್ಲಾ 15 ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಜೆಡಿಎಸ್ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಅಭ್ಯರ್ಥಿಗಳು ಸ್ಪರ್ಧಿಸಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಹೆಚ್.ಡಿ. ಕುಮಾರಸ್ವಾಮಿ ಅವರ ನೇತೃತ್ವದ ಬಹುಮತ ಸರ್ಕಾರವನ್ನು ವಾಮ ಮಾರ್ಗದಿಂದ ಕೆಡವಿದವರಿಗೆ ಜನತೆ ತಕ್ಕ ಪಾಠ ಕಲಿಸಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ. — Janata Dal Secular (@JanataDal_S) September 21, 2019   HD Kumaraswamy said that the party is targeting to win the bye-elections in at least 8 of the 15 constituencies.  ‘Teach them a lesson’ Congress leaders also expressed surprise over the timing of the bye-elections. "We did not expect that the bye-elections would happen so soon in October but we will be ready to fight it," said former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He was speaking at an event organised in Hosakote where senior Congress leaders like Krishna Byre Gowda, KR Ramesh Kumar and Dinesh Gundu Rao were present.  The event was held in the same constituency where MTB Nagaraj, one of the richest politicians in the country, was elected in the 2018 Assembly Election on a Congress ticket. He, however, resigned from his position and became a rebel MLA in July despite repeated attempts by senior Congress leaders to make him stay in the party. "This is not the house built by MTB Nagaraj in spite of what he thinks. People voted him because he contested as the Congress leader but he has cheated the party," Krishna Byre Gowda said speaking at the event.  "We do not know what will happen in court, but whoever contests from Hosakote will lose to Congress. (Former Speaker) Ramesh Kumar has decided according to the Constitution and this has taught a lesson to them (disqualified MLAs). If people also teach them a lesson, it will be a message to the country," Siddaramaiah added.  All three parties will now have to scramble to finalise candidates for the 15 constituencies where bye-elections will be held next month. While Congress and JD(S) leaders are confident that the bye-elections will spell the end of the short tenure of the BJP government in the state, the BJP is confident about securing the six seats needed for a majority in the Assembly.  The disqualified MLAs however are caught in abeyance needing an interim relief from the Supreme Court to allow them to contest the bye-elections.           

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