HC notice to Pramod Madhwaraj, 22 MLAs for 'unconstitutional' oath

[email protected] (The Hindu)
September 28, 2013
Bangalore, Sep 28: The Karnataka High Court on Friday ordered issue of notices to 22 MLAs including Udupi MLA Pramod Madhwaraj and a Minister on petitions, which alleged that they had violated the mandatory procedure prescribed in the Constitution for taking oath as members of the Legislative Assembly and as Minister, respectively.
Pramod-Madhwaraj

The petitioners, city-based advocate Dharmapal Y. and RTI activist Jayaprakash Hiremath, alleged that the MLAs and Minister for Information Technology S.R. Patil took the oath in a “whimsical” manner, disregarding the Constitutional mandate.

They took oath in the names of a deity, saints, parents, farmers or voters of their constituency.

The petitioners have sought a direction from the court to oust them from office and declare that these MLAs and the Minister have usurped their office, performing functions without authority in law as they have “not taken oath or affirmation as mandated by the Constitution”.

It has been pointed out that the MLAs have clearly violated Article 188 of the Constitution, which states that a person elected to the Legislative Assembly or Council, shall, before taking his seat,…make and subscribe…an “oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in the Third Schedule [of the Constitution].

Similarly, Article 164(3) of the Constitution states that before a Minister enters upon his office, the Governor shall administer to him the “oaths of office and of secrecy according to the forms set out for the purpose in the Third Schedule”.

Petitioners' counsel A.S. Ponnanna pointed out that as the prescribed form set out in the Constitution states that they can either “swear in the name of God” or can “solemnly affirm”, the words substituted by these elected representatives resulted in “not taking oath or affirmation” of their offices, thus making them ineligible to function as MLAs and Minister.

It has been contended in the petition that such a violation attracts penalty as per Article 193 of the Constitution, which states that if a person sits or votes as a member of the Assembly or the Council before he takes oath as per Article 188, “he shall be liable, in respect of each day on which he sits or votes, to a penalty of Rs. 500 to be recovered as a debt due to the State”.

The 22 MLAs and their constituencies are: S.N. Narayanswamy (Bangarpet); S. Chikkamadu (H.D. Kote); D.N. Devaraj (Sringeri); H. Anjaneya (Holalkere); Chandrakanth Bellad (Hubli-Dharwad West); R.S. Doddamani (Shirahatti); Shashikala Jolley (Nippani); V.S. Kashappanavar (Hungund); N.H. Konaraddi (Navalgunda); K.B. Prasanna Kumar (Shimoga); Y. Ramakka (KGF); Y.N. Rudregowda (Belur); G.T. Devegowda (Chamundeshwari); M.T.B. Nagaraj (Hoskote); M.P. Appachhuranjan (Madikeri); P.M. Narendraswamy (Malavalli); Bheema Naik (Hagaribommanahalli); Chaluvarayaswamy (Nagamangala); Vinay Kulkarni (Dharwad); Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy (Pulakeshinagar) and A.B. Ramesh Bandisiddegowda (Srirangapatna).

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News Network
December 2,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 2: Mangaluru International Airport responded to a medical emergency late on Monday night. Air India Express flight IX 522, travelling from Riyadh to Thiruvananthapuram, was diverted to Mangaluru Airport after a passenger in his late 30s experienced a medical emergency on board.

The Airport’s Operations Control Centre received an alert regarding the passenger’s health condition. The airport activated its emergency response protocol, mobilising the airport medical team and coordinating with stakeholders including CISF, immigration, and customs. 

Upon landing, airport medical personnel attended to the passenger, assessed his condition, and arranged to shift him to a local tertiary-care hospital for further treatment. The passenger’s relatives accompanied the passenger, who incidentally received necessary medical care on board, which helped stabilise the situation.

Following the handling of the emergency, the flight departed for Thiruvananthapuram at 2:05 am on Tuesday.

"We appreciate the cooperation of all parties involved, and this incident reaffirms our ongoing commitment to prioritising passenger safety and readiness to respond to unforeseen emergencies with professionalism and care," the Airport spokesperson said. 

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News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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News Network
December 3,2025

arrival.jpg

Mangaluru, Dec 3: A group of Congress workers gathered at the Mangaluru International Airport on Wednesday to welcome AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, but the reception quickly turned into a display of support for Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.

Venugopal arrived in the city to participate in the centenary commemoration of the historic dialogue between Mahatma Gandhi and Narayana Guru. The event, organised by the Sivagiri Mutt, Varkala, in association with the Mangalore University Sri Narayana Guru Study Chair, is being held on the university’s Konaje campus.

KPCC general secretary Mithun Rai and several party workers had assembled at the airport to receive Venugopal. However, the moment he stepped out, workers began raising slogans backing Shivakumar.

The university programme will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

This show of support comes just a day after Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar would lead the government “when the high command decides.” The chief minister made the comment after a breakfast meeting at Shivakumar’s residence—another public display of camaraderie between the two leaders amid ongoing attempts by the party high command to downplay their leadership rivalry.

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