Kapil Mishra attacked at hunger strike venue

May 10, 2017

New Delhi, May 10: High drama was witnessed at the hunger strike venue of sacked Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra on Wednesday when a youth claiming to be AAP supporter attacked him.

The AAP, however, retweeted a series of tweets that claimed that the youth who attacked Mishra was an activist of BJP youth wing Yuva Morcha. The Yuva Morcha also denied any links with him.

Mishra, who began his hunger strike at his residence in the morning asking the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to publicise details of funding for the foreign tours made by five of its leaders, said the youth approached him around 5:30 PM and grabbed his neck.

His supporters immediately rushed towards Mishra and freed him from the clutches of the youth, identified as Ankit Bhardwaj.

"I was lying on the bed, suddenly a youth came running towards me and jumped on me. He grabbed me by my neck. He said he won't allow me to do whatever I am doing. But I warn my supporters if they attack him, I am going to stop taking water also," Mishra told reporters soon after the incident.

He said he would not name anyone though indicated that "two-three people who will be affected" by his actions could be behind it. "I would not say it is the conspiracy by the party or the leaders," he said adding that he was not hurt.

While being taken away by police, the youth, who was slapped by some Mishra supporters, said, "I am an AAP worker. Nobody sent me. Mishra is harming the party."

Mishra, who was suspended from AAP following his allegations against Kejriwal that he took Rs two crore from Minister Satyendar Jain, also claimed he received a phone call on Tuesday night threatening him that he would be shot. The sacked minister had also claimed that Jain helped Kejriwal's late brother-in-law to clinch a Rs 50 crore land deal.

His hunger strike came a day after he approached the CBI seeking a probe into the foreign tours by the leaders -- Jain, Sanjay Singh, Ashish Khetan, Raghav Chadha and Durgesh Pathak.

He said Kejriwal has been telling people that AAP does not have money to even contest elections. "Then where did the money come from for these foreign trips?" he asked. "If these details are revealed, people won't let you stay in power for another moment. What is the secret behind these trips?" he said.

In a post on social media addressed to Kejriwal before he launched his protest, Mishra said the details he has sought would reveal all the misdoings by leaders that include using hawala route for money, misappropriation of donations and cash handling.

"This is not a dharna but a satyagraha. I would like to send a message to Kejriwal to put out the details. This will continue till I get clarification," he said. He also claimed that the details of the foreign trips would reveal "a lot about corruption" by them.

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‘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.

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