Two Tamil Nadu Ministers quit on strong court remarks
This is the second time Mr. Senthilbalaji stepped down as a Minister, as the Supreme Court made it clear that he had to make a choice between his ministerial post and freedom. He continued as a Minister without portfolio after his arrest in June 2023 by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case, but resigned from the Cabinet on February 12, 2024. He was reinstated after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the case on September 26, 2024.
A Supreme Court Bench took objection to Mr. Senthilbalaji's induction into the Cabinet, and Justices A.S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan on April 23 said that his continuation as a Minister placed him in a position of influence with regard to witnesses, and he could derail the trial.
Justice Oka remarked that the Bench would even record in its order that it had been a 'mistake' to grant him bail and observed that he had been given bail not on the merits of the case but because the court stood up for the fundamental right to personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
For Mr. Ponmudy, the Madras High Court directed its Registry to take up a suo motu writ petition for a derogatory speech by him against Saivites, Vaishnavites and women in general. Justice N. Anand Venkatesh issued the direction after observing that the Minister had prima facie misused the liberty granted to him by the Supreme Court which had stayed his conviction as well as sentence in a corruption case.
Following this, the first Bench of the Madras High Court granted time till June 5 for the Tamil Nadu government as well as Mr. Ponmudy, in his individual capacity, to respond to a public interest litigation petition filed by an advocate to disqualify the Minister from holding any constitutional post due to his recent derogatory speech.
A Raj Bhavan release said Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has recommended Governor R.N. Ravi to accept their resignation. The Chief Minister also recommended the induction of former Minister Mano Thangaraj into the Cabinet. The swearing-in will be held on April 28.
The Hindu's Editorials
The Hindu's Daily Quiz
Rana Sangha was the king of which Rajput clan?
Bhati
Mewar
Kachwaha
Rathore
To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
4 minutes ago
- The Hindu
The Hindu Morning Digest, July 29, 2025
Ceasefire had no linkage with U.S. trade: Jaishankar in Parliament In a clear rebuttal of the repeated assertions by U.S. President Donald Trump that he stopped the recent India-Pakistan conflict, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told the Lok Sabha that there was no phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr. Trump during the tense phase with Pakistan after the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam. Mr. Trump has said on multiple occasions that he extracted a ceasefire from India and Pakistan by threatening to cut off trade if they continued fighting. Yemen revokes Nimisha Priya's death sentence, claims Kanthapuram The execution of Malayali nurse Nimisha Priya, who is on a death row for the alleged murder of Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi, has been revoked by the Houthi militia in Yemeni capital Sanaa, office of Sunni leader Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar claimed. However, Indian officials handling the case did not confirm the development. India, Pakistan would still be at war if not for his intervention, Trump repeats ceasefire claim India and Pakistan would still be warring with each other, if not for his intervention, U.S. President Donald Trump said. The U.S. President made the remarks before beginning talks with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Trump Turnberry golf course in Scotland. The President also claimed, again, repeated his claim that he used trade as leverage to get New Delhi and Islamabad to stop fighting in early May this year, after terrorists opened fire and killed 26 civilians in Pahalgam. New Delhi has consistently denied Mr. Trump's claims that he was instrumental in bringing about the May 10 ceasefire between the two countries. At least 34 killed in heavy rains and flooding in and near Beijing Heavy rains and flooding killed 30 people in Beijing, China's capital, the country's state media reported on Tuesday (July 29, 2025), bringing the death toll from the storms in the region to at least 34. State broadcaster CCTV said that 28 people had died in Beijing's hard-hit Miyun district and two others in Yanqing district as of midnight. Both are outlying parts of the sprawling city, far from the downtown. Why did Justice Varma submit to in-house inquiry if it was contrary to Constitution, Supreme Court asks The Supreme Court questioned High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma's choice to submit to an in-house inquiry procedure into an allegation of 'burnt cash' found at his official residential premises in Delhi, despite finding the procedure to be 'completely contrary to the Constitutional scheme'. The query came after senior advocate Kapil Sibal complained that the action taken by the Supreme Court at the time, including release of sensitive visual and audio materials showing 'burnt currency', 'convicted' Justice Varma in the public eye. Opposition questions government on security lapses which led to Pahalgam terror attack Opposition parties, led by the Congress, questioned the Centre over 'security lapses' which had led to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22. The parties also attacked the government over the sudden 'ceasefire' declaration and as well as claims made by U.S. President Donald Trump on having brokered it. The Congress's deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, who opened the debate from Opposition ranks on the special discussion about 'India's strong, successful and decisive Operation Sindoor in response to the terror attack in Pahalgam', said Home Minister Amit Shah should take responsibility for the security lapses. Protests over SIR continue; Rajya Sabha fails to function Rajya Sabha failed to function as the Opposition MPs continued to protest over the issue of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar. This is the sixth consecutive sitting when no significant business could be transacted in the Upper House of Parliament. The Opposition had moved 26 notices under Rule 267 demanding discussion on various issues. Fourteen of these notices were on SIR exercise. Presidential Reference 'misleading', wants Supreme Court to sit on appeal against its own verdict in T.N. Governor case, says Kerala to Supreme Court The States of Tamil Nadu and Kerala urged the Supreme Court to dismiss the Presidential Reference seeking clarity on whether judiciary can fix timelines for the President and State Governors to clear State Bills, saying it is a ruse to make the apex court sit in appeal of its own authoritative pronouncement in the Tamil Nadu Governor case. The Constitution, both States said, did not allow the apex court to sit in appeal of its own judgments, nor can the President vest appellate jurisdiction in the court through a Presidential Reference. Tamil Nadu and Kerala termed the Reference as 'misleading' replete with 'suppressed facts'. West Bengal's 2002 SIR electoral roll appears on CEO site amidst speculations of fresh voter list revision Amid speculations of a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) being conducted for West Bengal's electoral roll, the 2002 voters' list of some districts has been made available online on the website of the State's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). Reportedly, the last SIR of the voters' list in West Bengal was conducted in 2002. This development assumes significance considering that in Bihar, the last SIR was conducted in 2003 and the electoral roll of that year has been kept as a reference point for the submission of identification documents for the SIR of 2025. Assam govt prepares for mega eviction drive in Golaghat, to affect 2,000 families The Assam government is preparing to clear more than 10,000 bigha (over 3,300 acre) of land from alleged encroachments in Golaghat district, which will affect at least 2,000 families, officials said. The eviction drive will begin on Tuesday (July 29, 2025) morning in Rengma Reserve Forest in Uriamghat along the Assam-Nagaland border in Sarupathar sub-division, they said. IIM Calcutta to allow student out on bail in rape case to attend classes, bars him from hostel Premanand Mahaveer Toppanavar, the student of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, who was accused of raping a woman on campus, has been allowed to resume classes after receiving bail, the Institute's director-in-charge, Saibal Chattopadhyay, told The Hindu. 'He is attending classes from today. Access to the hostel is barred for the time being,' Mr Chattopadhyay said. He added that the decision was taken in an emergency academic council meeting held on Friday. NIA submits reports on Jiribam killings, Manipur HC gives one month to file chargesheet The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has submitted two sealed reports to the Manipur High Court on the progress it has made in the Jiribam case in which six women and children of the Meitei community were abducted and later found dead in the Barak River in November last year. Taking it on record, the court told the probe agency to submit a detailed report in terms of the chargesheet within one month. SIT, along with complainant, inspects spots of alleged burials near Dharmasthala Officials of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing into the allegations of a series of murders and burials at Dharmasthala, along with the complainant-witness, inspected some spots near Dharmasthala on Monday where the latter has claimed to have buried bodies. According to official sources, the inspection of the spots of burials was part of the process to obtain permission to exhume bodies. After completing the inspection, a report will be submitted to the jurisdictional revenue officer to seek permission to exhume bodies. Muslim cleric booked for 'objectionable' remarks on Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav A Muslim cleric has been booked for allegedly making objectionable and inflammatory remarks against Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav during a televised debate, an official said on Monday (July 28, 2025). The FIR against cleric Maulana Sajid Rashidi was lodged at the Vibhuti Khand police station on Sunday (July 27, 2025) evening on a complaint by local resident Pravesh Yadav. The remarks in question were allegedly made in response to Dimple Yadav's recent visit to a mosque, where the cleric reportedly commented inappropriately on her attire. The complaint accused Rashidi of making statements that were not only derogatory and misogynistic, but also "highly provocative and aimed at inciting religious disharmony and communal tension," according to the FIR. Industrial growth pulled down to 10-month low of 1.5% in June Growth in industrial activity slowed to a 10-month low of 1.5% in June 2025, down from 1.9% in May. This slowdown was driven by the mining sector, which saw its worst performance in 58 months, and also by contractions in the electricity and primary goods sectors. Data on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, showed the index last witnessed worse growth numbers in August 2024. Thailand and Cambodia agree to 'immediate and unconditional' ceasefire, Malaysian PM says Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to an 'immediate and unconditional' ceasefire from midnight to resolve deadly border clashes, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. Mr. Anwar, who chaired the talks as head of the ASEAN regional bloc, said both sides have reached a common understanding to take steps to return to normalcy. Earlier, ceasefire talks have started between Thailand and Cambodian leaders in Malaysia in an urgent effort to resolve deadly border clashes that entered a fifth day despite mounting international calls for peace. Supreme Court takes suo motu cognisance of report over dog bites leading to rabies The Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of a media report about incidents of dog bites leading to rabies. A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan termed the news item published today in an English daily's Delhi edition as "very disturbing and alarming". It said every day, hundreds of dog bites were being reported in the city and on its outskirts, leading to rabies and ultimately, children and the aged were falling prey to the dreadful disease. FIDE Women's World Cup: Divya Deshmukh is the first Indian woman champion, becomes Grandmaster Divya Deshmukh is the World Cup winner. She is also India's latest Grandmaster, only the fourth Indian woman to get that most coveted of titles in chess. The 19-year-old from Nagpur recorded the greatest moment of her young career when she beat fellow-Indian Koneru Humpy in the tiebreakers of the World Cup final at Batumi, Georgia. Both games in the classical format had been drawn, leading to the shootout in speed chess.
Mint
4 minutes ago
- Mint
Colombia's ex-President Álvaro Uribe found guilty of bribery and abuse of process in landmark ruling
Colombia's former President Álvaro Uribe was found guilty on Monday of abuse of process and bribing a public official in a long-running witness-tampering case, marking the first time a former Colombian president has been convicted at trial. Judge Sandra Liliana Heredia delivered the verdict in court, acquitting Uribe of a third charge related to bribery. The ruling, which Uribe is likely to challenge through an appeal, is the latest development in a deeply political legal battle that has stretched over 13 years. Uribe, 73, and his supporters say the process is a persecution and that he is innocent. His detractors have celebrated it as the deserved downfall for a man who has been repeatedly accused of close relationships with violent right-wing paramilitaries, but never convicted of any crime. Each charge carries a jail sentence of between six and 12 years. Heredia is expected to sentence Uribe in a later hearing. "Justice does not kneel before power," Heredia told the court on Monday morning, before spending about nine hours reading her decision. "It is at the service of the Colombian people." "We want to say to Colombia that justice has arrived," she said, adding that her full decision is some 1,000 pages long. Uribe and one of his lawyers, Jaime Granados, joined the hearing via video link, while another lawyer, Jaime Lombana, appeared in person. Granados said the presumption of Uribe's innocence should be maintained and asked for him to remain free during the remainder of the process, a decision Heredia said she will take on Friday. Both detractors and supporters of the former president gathered outside the court, with some Uribe backers sporting masks of his face. Even if the conviction is eventually upheld, Uribe may be allowed to serve his sentence on house arrest because of his age. Uribe, who was president from 2002 to 2010 and oversaw a military offensive against leftist guerrilla groups, was investigated along with several allies over allegations of witness tampering carried out in an attempt to discredit accusations he had ties to paramilitaries. Judges have twice rejected requests by prosecutors to shelve the case, which stems from Uribe's allegation in 2012 that leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda had orchestrated a plot to tie him to paramilitaries. The Supreme Court said in 2018 that Cepeda had collected information from former fighters as part of his work and had not paid or pressured former paramilitaries. Instead, the court said it was Uribe and his allies who pressured witnesses. Cepeda attended the hearing in person with his counsel. Uribe's trial triggered sharp criticism from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio ahead of the judge's decision. Uribe had a close relationship with the U.S. during his two terms as president. "Uribe's only crime has been to tirelessly fight and defend his homeland. The weaponization of Colombia's judicial branch by radical judges has now set a worrisome precedent," Rubio said on X. "A decision against the ex-president could generate some kind of reprisal by the government of the United States," Banco de Bogota said in a note on Monday, referring to a proposal by U.S. Republican lawmaker Mario Diaz-Balart to cut non-military aid to Colombia next year, partly on concerns of due process violations in the Uribe case. Uribe, who was placed under house arrest for two months in 2020, is head of the powerful Democratic Center party and was a senator for years both before and after his presidency. He has repeatedly emphasized that he extradited paramilitary leaders to the United States. Colombia's truth commission says paramilitary groups, which demobilized under deals with Uribe's government, killed more than 205,000 people, nearly half of the 450,000 deaths recorded during the ongoing civil conflict. Paramilitaries, along with guerrilla groups and members of the armed forces, also committed forced disappearances, sexual violence, displacement and other crimes. Uribe joins a list of Latin American leaders who have been convicted and sometimes jailed, including Peru's Alberto Fujimori, Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Ecuador's Rafael Correa, Argentina's Cristina Fernandez and Panama's Ricardo Martinelli. (Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta, Carlos Vargas, Nelson Bocanegra and Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Leslie Adler)
United News of India
30 minutes ago
- United News of India
HP Cabinet approves relief package for rain disaster victims
Shimla, July 28 (UNI) Himachal Pradesh Cabinet, under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, today approved a significant relief package for families affected by the recent rain-related disasters across the state. In a major decision, the compensation for fully damaged houses has been increased from ₹1.30 lakh to ₹7 lakh, while the relief for partially damaged houses has gone up from ₹12,500 to ₹1 lakh. Shop and dhaba owners will now receive ₹1 lakh instead of ₹10,000. Cattle shed owners will be given ₹50,000, up from the earlier ₹10,000. Tenants who lost household belongings will receive ₹50,000, while house owners will be compensated ₹70,000. For livestock loss, the compensation for large milch animals has been raised from ₹37,500 to ₹55,000 per animal, and for goats, pigs, sheep, and lambs, the amount has more than doubled from ₹4,000 to ₹9,000. In the agriculture and horticulture sectors, compensation for damaged land has been increased to ₹10,000 per bigha from ₹3,900. De-silting compensation has been revised from ₹1,500 to ₹6,000 per bigha, and crop loss relief has risen from ₹500 to ₹3,000 per bigha. Owners of fully damaged poly-houses will get ₹25,000, and another ₹50,000 will be provided for de-silting of homes. The Cabinet expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives and extended condolences to the bereaved families. It thanked the NDRF, SDRF, Indian Army, State Police, Home Guards, NGOs, and citizens for their support in relief and rescue operations. It condemned the recent misbehavior with Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi and the alleged disrespect to the national flag during his visit to Seraj in Mandi district. The Cabinet urged the public to contribute to the Aapda Rahat Kosh, emphasizing that every contribution will support the rehabilitation of affected families. A detailed presentation on the scale of the disaster and the government's response was also presented during the meeting. UNI ML RKM
