Civilian killed as protests erupt across Kashmir

Srinagar, may 27: A civilian was killed and several others injured after being hit by bullets as clashes erupted near encounter site in Saimoh village of Tral township in south Kashmir's Pulwama district on Saturday. Two militants, including slain Hizb-ul-Muajhideen commander Burhan Wani's successor Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, were killed in the encounter that lasted for several hours. Reports said massive clashes erupted in Saimoh and adjacent Rathsuna – native village of Bhat - as the news of his death spread in the area.

Witnesses said that security forces opened fire to disperse the protesters, resulting in injuries to at least four civilians. One of them, identified as Molvi Aqib Ahmad, who had received a bullet in his forehead succumbed at sub-district hospital Tral.

Police said he was killed during the “cross-firing.” Meanwhile, a spontaneous shutdown was witnessed across Kashmir valley against the killing of Sabzar. Reports from almost all the districts of the Valley said that shopkeepers lowered their shutters and public transport disappeared from the roads as soon the news about militant commander's killing spread. Reports of students taking to streets in several areas of Kashmir were also received.

Fearing more trouble, authorities suspended mobile Internet services in the valley. A senior police official said the services were suspended to contain the spread of "rumours" over the Internet. The suspension came a day after the state government lifted a month-long ban on at least 22 social networking websites.

Reports said that the broadband services on the government-owned BSNL have also been affected by the ban in several areas of Kashmir.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

‘Pay the worker before his sweat dries’: Madras High Court cites Prophet Muhammad’s teaching while ordering settlement of dues

News Network

December 21,2025

Invoking the teachings of Prophet Muhammad—“pay the worker before his sweat dries”—the Madras High Court has directed a municipal corporation to settle long-pending legal dues owed to a former counsel. The court observed that this principle reflects basic fairness and applies equally to labour and service-related disputes.

Justice G. R. Swaminathan made the observation while hearing a petition filed by advocate P. Thirumalai, who claimed that the Madurai City Municipal Corporation failed to pay him legal fees amounting to ₹13.05 lakh. Earlier, the High Court had asked the corporation to consider his representation. However, a later order rejected a major portion of his claim, prompting the present petition.

The court allowed Thirumalai to approach the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and submit a list of cases in which he had appeared. It also directed the corporation to settle the verified fee bills within two months, without interest. The court noted that the petitioner had waited nearly 18 years before challenging the non-payment and that the corporation could not be fully blamed, as the fee bills were not submitted properly.

‘A Matter of Embarrassment’

Justice Swaminathan described it as a “matter of embarrassment” that the State has nearly a dozen Additional Advocate Generals. He observed that appointing too many law officers often leads to unnecessary allocation of work and frequent adjournments, as government counsel claim that senior officers are engaged elsewhere.

He expressed hope that such practices would end at least in the Madurai Bench of the High Court and added that Additional Advocate Generals should “turn a new leaf” from 2026 onwards.

‘Scandalously High Amounts’

While stating that the court cannot examine the exact fees paid to senior counsel or law officers, Justice Swaminathan stressed that good governance requires public funds to be used prudently. He expressed concern over the “scandalously high amounts” paid by government and quasi-government bodies to a few favoured law officers.

In contrast, the court noted that Thirumalai’s total claim was “a pittance” considering the large number of cases he had handled.

Background

Thirumalai served as the standing counsel for the Madurai City Municipal Corporation for more than 14 years, from 1992 to 2006. During this period, he represented the corporation in about 818 cases before the Madurai District Courts.

As the former counsel was unable to hire a clerk to obtain certified copies of judgments in all 818 cases, the court directed the District Legal Services Authority to collect the certified copies within two months. The court further ordered the corporation to bear the cost incurred by the DLSA and deduct that amount from the final settlement payable to the petitioner.

Comments