Of Justice and Injustice: Sid Harth
Sid Harth
Modi wants Centre, SC to take up judicial impact assessment
Published by: Noor Khan: Sun, 16 Aug 2009 at 15:42 IST
F Prev Next LNew Delhi: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today
mooted judicial impact assessment by the Centre and the Supreme Court
to ascertain how select rulings by courts affect the society.
Addressing a conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High
Courts here, Modi said such a system should work on the lines of
assessment of any other development or infrastructure project and
suggested setting up "certain parameters or benchmarks".
The BJP leader said that the Centre and the Supreme Court should take
up a pilot project under which 100 judgements at taluka level, 50 at
district level, 25 judgements of High Court and 10 of Supreme Court
should be selected for assessment as to how these have impacted the
society.
He said the it should also be seen whether the court judgements have
adversely affected the interests of the society and the state.
Referring to judicial reforms, he said 'CJI of India Fellowship
Programme' should be considered in law universities for grooming young
lawyers and future jurists.
...and I am Sid Harth
Sid Harth
Centre will soon realise importance of Bill: Modi
Manas Dasgupta
PTI Gujarat CM Narendra Modi waves to the public during the
Independence Day celebrations at Raj Pipla, Vadodara on Saturday.
A State-level Independence Day celebration was held on Saturday at Raj
Pipla, district headquarters of Narmada, where Chief Minister Narendra
Modi hoisted the national flag.
Mr. Modi lashed out at the UPA government for refusing to clear the
Gujarat Control of Organised Crime (GUJCOC) Bill, which was adopted by
the Assembly three times but returned by the Centre. Mr. Modi said he
was confident that other States would soon be forced to follow
Gujarat’s example and adopt measures like the GUJCOC Bill to save the
country from terror attack.
“I am sure the Centre will soon realise the importance of the Bill,”
he said.
By-elections
Meanwhile, the State BJP parliamentary board met at Mr. Modi’s
official residence in Gandhinagar to discuss candidates for the
byelections for seven Assembly seats. The polls are considered a “mini-
general election” to test the Chief Minister’s popularity, after the
party suffered a setback in the recent parliamentary elections and
defeat in the Junagadh municipal corporation elections.
CCTV cameras
Vadodara has installed closed-circuit television cameras at strategic
places, both for traffic regulation and public security. The CCTV
system was launched on Independence Day with the installation of
cameras at 29 strategic points initially.
Mayor Balubhai Shukla said steps were being taken to install such
cameras at 150 centres.
Sid Harth
Minority, SC panels without a chairperson in Madhya Pradesh
Mahim Pratap Singh
Minorities and people from the Scheduled Castes in Madhya Pradesh have
no one to address their grievances. The State Government’s lack of
commitment to solving their problems is apparent from the fact that
the State Minority Commission and the Scheduled Castes Commission
(SCC) do not even have a chairperson.
While the ruling BJP expressed deep concern and commitment to these
sections in Wednesday’s much publicized meeting of its “alpasankhyak
morcha” (minority front), their efficiency is being seriously
questioned in the absence of a chairperson. BJP veteran Shahnawaz
Hussain, who presided over Wednesday’s meeting, said that Muslims and
other minorities in the State were safe and flourishing under the BJP
rule. “The BJP believes in providing collective leadership to all
sections of the society, unlike the Congress, which has always had a
minority appeasement propaganda,” said Mr. Hussain.
However, this verbal commitment has not translated into practice. The
State MC has been without a chairperson since October 23, 2008, while
the SCC has not had a chairperson since October 17, 2008.
“We have written to the chief secretary and the government about this
issue, but there hasn’t been any convincing response,” says State
Minority Commission Secretary U. M. Khatani.
Former MC Chairperson Ebrahim Qureshi, who chaired the Commission for
four successive tenures, says that according to the State Minority
Commission Act, 1996, it is mandatory for the Commission to have a
chairperson.
“All decisions have to be taken by the chairperson,” he says. “The
chairperson’s absence in the constitutional body leaves all decisions
invalid. The scholarship scheme announced by the Central Government
for minorities has failed to make any impact in the State due to
commissioner level corruption in Minority Affairs Department”
“The chairperson has to table reports, preside over meetings, take
decisions, do all the paperwork and report to the government about the
progress made, without which there is hardly any relevance of the
Commission,” says State SCC Secretary O.P. Gupta.
Sid Harth
PM urges judiciary to wage 'war on arrears'
New Delhi, Aug 16
Noting with concern the "vast number of pending cases in Indian
courts", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday said the elimination of
"this scourge" was the highest priority and the apex court has a vital
role to play in this "war on arrears".
He also urged the Indian judiciary to work together as a "seamless web
and indivisible whole" and assured that the government would "not
hesitate to walk the extra mile at every opportunity".
Speaking at the joint conference of chief ministers and chief justices
in the capital, the prime minister said: "The elimination of vast
number of pending cases in the Indian courts is the biggest challenge
before the judiciary. Yet, amidst strengths, brilliance and dynamism,
India has to suffer the scourge of the world’s largest backlog of
cases and timelines which generate surprise globally and concern at
home. The expeditious elimination of this scourge is the biggest
challenge for such conferences and should constitute the highest
priority for all of us.
“The mammoth number of pending cases cannot be allowed to disillusion
or dishearten us. It has to spur us to even higher peaks of
achievement and bring out the best from every stakeholder, acting in
coordination to progressively overcome this great challenge,” he
added.
Stressing on the fact that the apex court has a vital role to play in
clearing the backlog, Manmohan Singh said: “In this war on arrears,
the entire legal system and each rung of it has to function as a
seamless web and an indivisible whole. Naturally, the apex court has
to discharge a vital role. It has to be a catalyst, an organiser, a
mentor, an umpire, a participant, and above all, a role model, all at
the same time.”
Singh also assured that the government will always be with the side of
the judiciary and said: “We will not hesitate to walk the extra mile
at every opportunity.”
Last updated on Aug 16th, 2009 at 12:54 pm IST
Sid Harth
overnment retreats on judges' assets disclosure bill (Lead)
New Delhi, Aug 3
The government Monday deferred the introduction of a bill on the
declaration of judges' assets after members across the spectrum said
in the Rajya Sabha that it violated the Constitution and the Right to
Information Act.
"In view of the sentiments expressed by the members and to build
consensus on the issue, I am deferring the introduction of the bill,"
Law Minister Veerappa Moily said, as member after member, including
Jayanti Natarajan of the ruling Congress, objected to clause six of
the Judges (Declaration of Assets and Liabilities) Bill 2009 under
which the assets of judges could not be made public.
Opposing the introduction of the bill after Moily sought permission to
do so, Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley (Bharatiya Janata Party)
said: "Under clause six, a judge has to declare his assets to a
competent authority and this cannot be made public.
"If I want to contest an election, I have to first declare my assets
and these are made public. Thus, clause six seeks to give a different
interpretation to article 19 of the constitution. We can't have two
interpretations of the same article."
"We can't have dual interpretations of the law for people seeking to
hold public office and those already occupying public office," he
added.
Jaitley also objected to the fact that the bill had been "circulated
among the judiciary and has been drafted on the basis of their
recommendations". Moily, however, contested this.
Noted jurist Ram Jethmalani (Nominated) termed the bill a "conspiracy
of corruption".
"The bill creates suspicion that the judiciary is seeking favours from
the executive. This bill will make the judiciary subservient to the
executive," he contended.
Just before this, Natarajan stood up to say that since clause six of
the bill violated the Right to Information act, it should be referred
to a parliamentary standing committee.
Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan too favoured this route, but Sitaram
Yechury (Communist Party of India-Marxist) said: "Sir, you know what
happens of the recommendations of standing committees. They are not
legally binding on the government."
Moily, on his part, attempted to defend the bill, terming it the
"first step" of "many things to come" but this cut no ice with the
opposition MPs.
"Many say there is corruption in the judiciary and we need to deal
with it. We can hardly do anything. Even the Judges Enquiry Act only
lays down the procedure for impeachment. It doesn't deal with acts of
omission and commission.
"This bill is the first step in that direction. There are many things
to come, including a more comprehensive judges enquiry act," Moily
pointed out.
He also sought to make out a case for keeping the assets of judges
under wraps as this information could be used to "intimidate" judges
and "hold them to ransom".
Yechury was quick to latch on to this, saying: "Sir, the minister has
made out a very good case for removing clause six. Let this clause be
removed and let the bill be introduced. Let us put the issue to vote
(on whether or not the bill should be introduced)."
At this, Moily said he was deferring the measure to build greater
consensus.
Last updated on Aug 3rd, 2009 at 14:54 pm IST--IANS
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a69440.html
Apex court refuses to interfere with Maharashtra Rajya Sabha bypoll
New Delhi, Aug 3
The Supreme Court Monday refused to interfere with the Aug 10 bypoll
to three Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra, dismissing a lawsuit
which challenged the Election Commission's decision to hold it through
three separate ballot papers rather than one ballot paper.
A bench of Justice H.S. Bedi and Justice J.M. Panchal dismissed the
lawsuit saying that after beginning of the election process and
issuance of the schedule by the poll panel, the constitution bars
courts from interfering.
The Election Commission had issued on July 23 its poll schedule to
fill the three vacancies arising after three Rajya Sabha members -
Supriya Sule, Sushil Kumar Shinde and Praful Patel - got elected to
the Lok Sabha in May this year.
The lawsuit was filed by Shiv Sena member Suresh Rahul Nawrekar, who
contended that the decision to hold the elections separately through
separate ballot papers negates the spirit of Article 84 of the
Constitution, which lays down the principle of proportional
representation through single transferable votes for the Rajya Sabha
election.
Appearing for Nawrekar, senior counsel Harish Salve pleaded to the
bench that the lawsuit involved an important legal question and needed
to be converted into a public interest lawsuit.
But the bench refused to accede to his request, saying that for that
the petitioner will have to approach the court of the Chief justice of
India.
Article 84 of the Constitution lays down the principle of proportional
representation through single transferable votes for the Rajya Sabha
election, Nawrekar pointed out in his lawsuit. He added that this
principle was actually laid down to ensure that a state is represented
in the Rajya Sabha in proportion to its population.
And, accordingly, even parties with smaller number of members in the
state legislatures are able to elect their candidates for the Rajya
Sabha, he said.
But that is possible, the lawsuit said, only when the elections for
all the casual vacancies, numbering more than one, are held together
through a single ballot paper, giving each member of the state
legislature an opportunity to cast "his single vote" to choose from
among the candidates in the fray.
This method of holding elections together for multiple vacancies in
the upper house would ensure that the largest party in the state
legislature is not able to corner all the vacant seats of the house,
it said.
He added that if the election for several Rajya Sabha seats are held
together, even smaller parties stand a chance to get seats in the
upper house.
But in case the elections are held separately with as many ballot
papers as there are vacancies, each member of the house gets as many
chances to vote as the number of ballot papers and this results in the
largest party cornering all the seats.
This defies the principle which accords each member a single
transferable vote, he added.
Last updated on Aug 3rd, 2009 at 20:36 pm IST--IANS
Sid Harth
High Court turns down Joshi's plea to quash police complaint
Lucknow, Aug 7
The Allahabad High Court Friday turned down Uttar Pradesh Congress
president Rita Bahuguna Joshi's plea to quash the police complaint
lodged against her for making derogatory remarks against Chief
Minister Mayawati.
A division bench of the court comprising Justice Ravindra Singh and
Justice Naheed Ara Monis declined to give any verdict on Joshi's other
plea for a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the attack and
arson at Joshi's Lucknow residence allegedly by ruling Bahujan Samaj
Party (BSP) activists.
The judges held the view that since the cause of action arose in
Lucknow, it was beyond their jurisdiction. Joshi would have to file a
petition before the Lucknow bench of the high court, the bench said.
Joshi's counsel U.N. Sharma told IANS: "We will move a fresh petition
before the Lucknow bench on Monday."
The state Congress chief was arrested July 16 for her remarks
allegedly against Mayawati in Moradabad. She was sent to jail on a 14-
day judicial custody after being booked under the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Joshi's house was set on fire July 15 night following which five
people were arrested by police.
Last updated on Aug 7th, 2009 at 20:00 pm IST
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a70384.html
Supreme Court stops Uttar Pradesh from demolishing Lucknow jail
New Delhi, Aug 7
The Supreme Court Friday suspended its own order that had allowed the
Uttar Pradesh government to raze to the ground the sprawling 195-acre
Lucknow Jail to pave the way for construction of an ecological park.
A bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan took the decision on a plea
by Lucknow resident Sangam Lal Pandey, who contended that the state
government had secured the apex court order by concealing facts from
it.
Appearing in person, Pandey told the bench, which also included
Justice S.B. Sinha, that the state government had come to the apex
court challenging an Allahabad High Court ruling, which had stayed the
proposed demolition.
In its lawsuit against the high court ruling, the government had
asserted that the new jail being built on the outskirts of the city
was on the verge of completion, Pandey said.
But the fact is that the new jail was far from complete, he added.
Pandey clarified the facts when the bench said: "What is there to be
heard in it? The new jail is already complete."
As the court proceeded to issue a status quo order, preventing the
government from changing the ground situation, state counsel Satish
Mishra sought to assure it that the government would not demolish the
jail without the court permission.
Accordingly, the court recorded the government's assurance, implying
suspension of its July 8 order.
The apex court on July 8 had allowed the state government to raze the
old jail adjacent to the Ambedkar Park in the heart of the city on the
condition that the new park, coming up in its place, will not be
adorned with statutes of Chief Minister Mayawati, her late political
mentor Kanshi Ram and her party's election symbol elephant.
The state government had told the bench last month that the new jail
would be much more spacious than the old one.
The new jail would have the capacity to house up to 4,660 prisoners,
while the old one can accommodate at most 2,000-odd inmates, state
counsel had told the court.
Last updated on Aug 7th, 2009 at 18:07 pm IST
bademiyansubhanallah
Manmohan Singh calls for synergising responsibilities of judiciary and
executive
New Delhi, Aug 16 (ANI):
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called upon the judiciary and
executive to work together to make the Indian judicial system an
arrear free institution.
Singh was speaking at the Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and
Chief Justices here on Sunday.
Singh said that the elimination of vast number of pending cases in the
courts is the biggest challenge before the judiciary.
"The mammoth number of pending cases cannot be allowed to disillusion
or dishearten us. It has to spur us to even higher peaks of
achievement and bring out the best from every stakeholder, acting in
coordination to progressively overcome this great challenge," Singh
Said.
Calling for a holistic and multipronged approach, Singh said here is
no space for piecemeal, patchy or sectoral responses in judiciary.
"Judicial review has breached unprecedented frontiers. Yet, amidst
such strengths, brilliance and dynamism, India has to suffer the
scourge of the world’s largest backlog of cases and timelines, which
generate surprise globally and concern at home. The expeditious
elimination of this scourge is the biggest challenge for such
conferences and should constitute the highest priority for all of us,"
Singh said.
Singh asked the legal system to function as a seamless web and an
indivisible whole in solving the problems of commoner.
"The Supreme Court has to be a catalyst, an organiser, a mentor, an
umpire, a participant, and, above all, a role model, all at the same
time. I can assure this august gathering with all the emphasis at my
command that my government will not be found wanting at any level in
this joint effort," Singh said.
Singh assured to match each step of the judiciary with two of there
own and said his government will not hesitate to walk the extra mile
at every opportunity.
Calling for reforms in the judicial system Singh said the procedural,
substantive, or attitudinal reforms, which must be continuously and
collectively applied to achieve results.
"Meritorious individuals should be appointed timely to judicial posts,
which have been enhanced at the High Court level by 150 in the last
few years. The existing vacancies in High Courts are quite high in
number and need to be filled up urgently," Singh said.
early 3000 judge posts are vacant in the country due to the delay in
recruitment.
Singh also called to strengthen the State Judicial Academies to build
capacities of judicial officers.
Stressing for the need of adopting e-governance in the judicial system
Singh said a comprehensive computerisation and ultimate linking of all
courts in the country into one mega judicial information grid needs to
be tailored and adapted to enable screening of all pending cases.
In his speech Singh also stressed the need for the improving the
mechanisms and processes for providing legal aid to the marginalized
sections of the society.
Singh said there is a need to give it wider publicity to alternative
dispute resolution centres to reduce the pendency of cases and the
number of under-trials in the country.
Expressing his concern over the increasing number of under trials in
the country Singh asked the conference to devote some time to discuss
the issue.
Calling for more focus on to wipe tear of waiting litigant, Singh said
the aim of independent judiciary can not be achieved till it meet the
demands and expectation of litigant in letter and pirit. (ANI)
bademiyansubhanallah
Judiciary to obey Parliament on disclosure of assets: CJI
Tags : K G Balakrishnan
Posted: Sunday , Aug 16, 2009 at 2001 hrs
New Delhi:
Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan said that the judiciary was
not against declaration of judges' assets and that it was ready to
"implicitly" obey Parliament if it passes a law in this regard.
"Let Parliament make any law, we will implicitly obey it,"
Balakrishnan told reporters after conclusion of the conference of
Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts.
The CJI made the comment when he was asked about the protests by
opposition on a clause in the Judges Assets Bill which prevents making
declarations made by judges public.
Clause 6 of the Bill states that declaration made by a judge to the
competent authority shall not be made public or disclosed and shall
not not be called for or put into question by any citizen, court or
authority.
The protests by opposition had forced the government to defer tabling
the Bill in Parliament.
On the agenda of the conference, the CJI ruled out the impression that
corruption in the judiciary was not discussed during the
deliberations.
"It was not out of the agenda and the vigilance section of the High
Courts has been looking into the issue of corruption in subordinate
judiciary," he said adding that the word 'corruption' was not used in
the agenda.
Balakrishnan, however, parried questions on the issue of corruption in
higher judiciary, including the Supreme Court, saying the conference
was not a forum to discuss individual complaints.
bademiyansubhanallah
Wipe tears of waiting litigants, Manmohan tells judiciary
Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi, August 16, 2009
First Published: 18:37 IST(16/8/2009)
Last Updated: 18:45 IST(16/8/2009)
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday exhorted the judiciary "to
wipe every tear of every waiting litigant" by eliminating the scourge
of a huge backlog of cases - the largest in the world.
Singh urged the judiciary to to become "arrear-free", while addressing
a day-long annual conference of the chief justices and the chief
ministers of various states. The meet was attended, among others, by
Chief Justice of India Justice KG Balakrishnan, Law Minister Veerappa
Moily and several apex court judges.
Pointing out a host of intrinsic merits and the strengths for which
the Indian judiciary commands respect world over, Prime Minister Singh
said at Vigyan Bhavan here: "Despite its strengths, brilliance and
dynamism, India has to suffer the scourge of the world's largest
backlog of cases."
"The expeditious elimination of this scourge is the biggest challenge
for such conferences and should constitute the highest priority for
all of us," Manmohan Singh said.
"Let us take a vow to ensure that the enormous global respect for the
Indian judiciary for its pathbreaking doctrines and consistent
independence be soon matched by similar accolades for an arrear free
judicial institution.
"Like Gandhiji's common man, the focus of the judicial system should
be to wipe every tear of every waiting litigant," Singh added.
While speaking of the huge backlog of cases, the prime minister cast
the responsibility to eliminate it on the Supreme Court, saying:
"Naturally, the apex court has to discharge a vital role. It has to be
a catalyst, an organiser, a mentor, an umpire, a participant, and,
above all, a role model, all at the same time."
Going by official figures, the subordinate judiciary across the
country has a backlog of 26.4 million cases, while the high courts
have an arrear of 3.8 million. The Supreme Court had crossed the mark
of 50,000 pending cases as of last month.
The prime minister assured the judiciary all help from the government
in reducing the arrears.
"I can assure this august gathering with all the emphasis at my
command that my government will not be found wanting at any level in
this joint effort. We promise to match each step of the judiciary with
two of our own. We will not hesitate to walk the extra mile at every
opportunity," Manmohan Singh said.
Attributing the backlog of cases partly to existing vacancies of
judges in high courts and subordinate courts, Manmohan Singh also
exhorted the chief justices of various high courts to take expeditious
steps for filling up the vacancies at both levels.
"The existing vacancies in high courts are quite high in number and
need to be filled up urgently. I would urge the chief justices of high
courts to initiate proposals for quickly filling up these posts," the
prime minister said.
He added that "vacancies at the subordinate level roughly comprise 20
to 25 per cent of subordinate judicial posts. I am told that almost
3,000 posts of judges in the country are vacant because of delay in
recruitment. All these vacant posts at the subordinate levels need to
be filled up without any further loss of time."
Taking note of the plight of undertrials, incarcerating in jails for
periods exceeding the terms of their possible sentence, Manmohan Singh
urged the judiciary and other executive authorities to spare a thought
for them as well.
"A matter of concern is the large number of undertrials in our jails.
Many such undertrials have been in jail for periods longer than they
would have served had they been sentenced. This is indeed very
disturbing," said the prime minister.
He said: "There have been pronouncements of the high courts and the
Supreme Court on this issue but still the number of undertrials in
jails continues to be very large. I sincerely hope this conference
will devote some time to this issue," he added.
Singh also disclosed that on a recommendation by Chief Justice
Balakrishnan, the union government had taken steps to establish 71
more special courts to adjudicate cases investigated by the Central
Bureau of Investigation.
bademiyansubhanallah
Karnataka demands apex court bench, Haryana its own high court
August 16th, 2009 - 10:13 pm ICT by IANS -
New Delhi, Aug 16 (IANS) Karnataka Sunday demanded a Supreme Court
bench at Bangalore to meet the needs of litigants in south India,
while Haryana demanded its own high court at Chandigarh by bifurcating
the existing Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The varied demands raised by various states during the daylong annual
conference of the chief ministers and chief justices of states Sunday
also included Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s demand to
prioritise among various categories of civil and criminal cases and
tackle the ones with serious implications for the society at the
earliest.
The demand for an apex court bench at Bangalore was raised by
Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa.
“I take this opportunity to draw the attentions of Chief Justice
K.G.Balakrishnan and Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily that the people
hailing from the southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh, Pondicherry and Kerala are facing considerable hardship in
coming to Delhi to pursue their cases in the Supreme Court,” said
Yeddyurappa.
“The phrase ‘Delhi door hai (Delhi is still far away) is still valid
for the common people from these places,” he added.
“The Law Commission too, in one of its reports, has recommended
setting up an apex court bench at Banagalore,” said the Karnataka
chief minister, adding: “I request both the law minister and the chief
justice of India to establish a Supreme Court bench at Bangalore,
which is equidistant from all the southern states.”
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, on the other hand,
demanded a separate high court for his state.
“My state still stands deprived of its own high court. It is our
constitutional right which is being denied to the people of Haryana,”
he said, adding states which have come into existence after Haryana
have already set up their own high courts.
“Punjab and Haryana High Court can easily be bifurcated into two
separate high courts for the two states by dividing the existing
premises, judges and staff between Punjab and Haryana in the ratio of
60:40, as was done for the civil secretariat and the Vidhan Sabha
infrastructure.”
While dwelling upon various means to wipe out the huge backlog of
cases in Indian courts, Modi proposed that the case with larger impact
on the society should be adjudicated first.
“I wonder as to any planned attempt has even been made to give
priority to serious criminal cases over the less important ones and to
give priority to hearings of civil and commercial matters of public
importance over less important ones,” he said.
It was “worth attempting” to evolve a system, where matters of serious
implications to the society and country are given priority instead of
taking them up for hearing as per the normal schedule, he added.
Sid Harth
Indian court backlog goes back to 1950
Posted 21 minutes ago
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called on the country's
judiciary to address the massive backlog of pending legal cases, some
of which stretch back to 1950.
Official figures show more than 30 million cases are pending and Mr
Singh says an overhaul of the judicial system should be India's
highest priority.
"India has to suffer the scourge of the world's largest backlog of
cases," he said.
"The expeditious elimination of this scourge is the biggest challenge
and should constitute the highest priority."
The delays are blamed on a combination of archaic laws, a need for
more courts, and a chronic shortage of judicial officers.
In India's lower courts alone, 70 per cent of vacancies remain
unfilled, a skills shortage which is blamed on the difficulty of
attracting talented graduates to the posts.
Mr Singh did not mention judicial corruption, an issue abandoned in
the last meeting of parliament because of stiff opposition from MPs.
Sid Harth
PM mum on sticky issues at judges meet
HT Political Bureau, Hindustan Times
Email Author
New Delhi, August 17, 2009
First Published: 00:25 IST(17/8/2009)
Last Updated: 00:28 IST(17/8/2009)
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday singled out the world’s
largest backlog of more than three crore pending cases in Indian
courts as the biggest challenge confronting the judiciary, and
appealed for a war against this “scourge”.
Singh, surprisingly, skipped any reference to the sensitive issues of
corruption in higher judiciary and reluctance of judges to declare
their assets, both of which have put the judiciary on defensive for
its opposition to more transparency in its functioning.
This was for the first time the Prime Minister and top judges came
face-to-face on a public forum, two weeks after the government was
embarrassed in parliament, when its attempt to push a bill to keep the
judges assets secret failed in Rajya Sabha. However, both sides chose
to keep silent on the issue.
“India has to suffer the scourge of the world’s largest backlog of
cases and timelines which generate surprise globally and concern at
home,” Singh said, addressing a conference of chief ministers and
chief justices of high courts.
“In this war on arrears, the entire legal system and each rung of it
has to function as a seamless web” the PM said.
He assured the judiciary of complete support from the government to
overcome this great challenge.
The only contentious issue touched upon by the PM in this delicate
government-judiciary relationship, was the appointment of judges.
“Meritorious individuals should be appointed timely to judicial posts,
which have been enhanced at the high court level by 150 in the last
few years,” Singh said.
He asked the chief justice of high courts to fill up the vacant
positions of judges at the earliest. “Existing vacancies in high
courts are quite high in number and need to be filled up urgently. I
have been told 20 to 25 % posts of judges are vacant in subordinate
judiciary. I am told more than 3,000 posts of judges are vacant in
the country due to delays in recruitment,” he said.
Chief Justice of India (CJI), K.G. Balakrishnan, speaking before the
Prime Minister, also expressed concern at the “chronic shortage” of
judges, which was hindering efforts to cut down the huge number of
pending cases.
“There has undoubtedly been a chronic shortage of judicial officers,
especially at subordinate level and there are also some structural
obstacles which discourage talented law graduates from joining
judicial services,” the CJI said.
bademiyansubhanallah
Pendency of cases a worry for PM, CJI
Press Trust Of India / August 17, 2009, 1:03 IST
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chief Justice of India K G
Balakrishanan on Sunday voiced concern over huge pendency of cases and
judicial vacancies, but skipped the controversial issues of corruption
in judiciary and declaration of assets by higher court judges.
Singh said despite its strengths, “India has to suffer the scourge of
the world’s largest backlog of cases and timelines, which generate
surprise globally and concern at home. In this war on arrears, the
apex court has to discharge a vital role.
“The government will not be found wanting at any level in this joint
effort. We promise to match each step of the judiciary with two of our
own. We will not hesitate to walk the extra mile at every
opportunity,” he said.
The Prime Minister and the CJI were speaking at a conference of Chief
Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts in New Delhi which comes
in the midst of a national debate on instances of judicial corruption
and raging controversy over declaration of assets by judges of higher
judiciary.
Echoing similar sentiments, Balakrishnan said the “chronic shortage”
of judicial officers was hindering efforts to overcome the backlog of
cases. There are structural obstacles which discourage talented law
graduates from joining the judicial services and over 17 per cent
posts of judicial officers remained vacant in the subordinate
judiciary, he said.
“There has undoubtedly been a chronic shortage of judicial officers,
especially at subordinate level and there are also some structural
obstacles which discourage talented law graduates from joining
judicial services,” the CJI said. Referring to vacancies in high
courts and subordinate courts, Singh said meritorious individuals
should be appointed timely to judicial posts and vacancies should be
filled up "without any loss of time”.
“The existing vacancies in high courts are quite high in number and
need to be filled up urgently. I would urge the chief justices of high
courts to initiate proposals for quickly filling up these posts.”
Referring to the ambitious gram nyayalaya project, he said the
legislation for village courts has been enacted in January this year,
but is yet to be enforced by the states.
“I would urge that the state governments initiate immediate action to
operationalise the Gram Nyayalayas Act in their states. Once the Act
is fully implemented, we will have more than 5,000 courts at the
intermediate panchayat level. These will bring justice to the
doorsteps of the common people,” he said.
Singh said while there could be differing views on the adequacy of the
assistance being provided, “this should not hold us from speedily
bringing the Act into force”. Concerned over a large number of
undertrials languishing in jails, he said, “Many such undertrials have
been in jail for periods longer than they would have served had they
been sentenced. There have been pronouncements of the high courts and
the Supreme Court on this issue but still the number of undertrials in
jails continues to be very large.”
http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/17/stories/2009081755650100.htm
Reduce pendency of cases: Manmohan
P. Sunderarajan
‘Judiciary, executive must work together’
— Photo: Ramesh Sharma
A joint initiative: (From right) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chief
Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan and Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily
at the joint conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of the
High Courts in New Delhi on Sunday.
NEW DELHI: Expressing serious concern over the huge number of pending
court cases, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday called upon the
judiciary and the executive to work together to eliminate the
“scourge.”
Addressing a joint conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices
here, Dr. Singh said: “I can assure this august gathering with all the
emphasis at my command that my government will not be found wanting at
any level in this joint effort …We promise to match each step of the
judiciary with two of our own. We will not hesitate to walk the extra
mile at every opportunity.”
Urging the entire legal system and each of its rungs to function as a
“seamless web and an indivisible whole,” he emphasised that all vacant
judicial posts should be filled up expeditiously with meritorious
individuals.
The State judicial academies should be strengthened to build the
capacities of judicial officers.
Dr. Singh called for comprehensive computerisation and the ultimate
linking of all the courts into one mega judicial information grid. All
pending cases should be screened to enable the disposal of many old
cases as moot or infructuous.
Agreeing that despite the recent increases in judicial strength there
was scope for significant future increases in court strength, Dr.
Singh said that would be subject to quick filling of existing
vacancies.
He rued that the plea bargaining provided for by the law since 2005
had not been fully utilised so far and that the Gram Nyayalaya Act
enacted in January was yet to be implemented.
Pointing out the Central government was committed to providing
assistance for the setting up of Gram Nyayalayas, Dr. Singh said that
though there could be differing views on the adequacy of the
assistance being provided, that should not come in the way of bringing
the Act into force.
“Once the Act is fully implemented, we will have more than 5,000
courts at the intermediate Panchayat level. These will bring justice
to the doorsteps of the common people, who currently feel that getting
justice in India is not only time-consuming and costly, but sometimes
also an intractable proposition.”
He informed the conference that the Centre had decided to establish 71
additional CBI courts in different States on the advice of the Chief
Justice of India. “Fast track courts should conduct their business
differently and faster than normal courts. Only then shall we be able
to tackle pendency in cases.”
Dr. Singh regretted that despite the pronouncements of the Supreme
Court and the High Courts, a large number of under-trials were still
languishing in jails, many of them for periods longer than they would
have served had they been sentenced.
Referring to the efforts being undertaken by the Ministry of Law and
Justice to work out a roadmap for judicial reforms, he said a national
consultation with jurists and stakeholders would be held here shortly
to draw out the broad contours and set the stage for the reforms.
bademiyansubhanallah
Gay row: SC notice to Centre on pleas challenging Delhi HC verdict
PTI 17 August 2009, 12:36pm IST
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on today issued notice to the Centre on
petitions filed by a Christian body and a disciple of Yoga Guru Baba
Ramdev
seeking stay of a Delhi High Court verdict legalising gay sex among
consenting adults.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, posted the matter
for further hearing on September 14 when it is likely to take up
another bunch of similar petitions challenging the judgement.
The Court asked the government to file its response on the matter by
the next date of hearing.
The Court's notice came on two petitions filed by Christian Apostolic
Churches Alliance and S K Tijarawala, a disciple of Baba Ramdev.
The apex Court had earlier on July 20 refused to stay the High Court's
judgement stating that it would wait for the Government to come
forward with its response on the issue.
It had earlier also issued notice to the Centre seeking its response
on a similar petition filed by astrologer Suresh Kumar Kaushal
challenging the High Court judgement.
Notices were also issued to Naz Foundation, the NGO, and other
respondents who were parties before the High Court.
Kaushal sought setting aside of the July two High Court verdict
legalising gay sex between consenting adults in private, which was
earlier a criminal offence punishable with upto life imprisonment.
bademiyansubhanallah
PM, CJI differ on the issue of backlog of cases
CJI, KG Balakrishnan, PM Manmohan Singh (File photo)PTI First
Published : 16 Aug 2009 01:21:47 PM ISTLast Updated : 16 Aug 2009
10:08:45 PM IST
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chief Justice of India
K.G. Balakrishnan Sunday appeared to be differing on appointing more
judges to reduce the huge backlog of cases pending in the judiciary.
As Manmohan Singh urged the judiciary to eliminate its backlog of
31.18 million cases, the largest in the world, Chief Justice
Balakrishnan attributed the malady to the "chronic shortage of
judicial officers" and demanded appointment of more judges to match
the country's judge-to-population' ratio to that of developed nations.
The prime minister, in turn, conceded the need to enhance the judges'
strength in proportion to the population, but only after filling up
existing vacancies at the levels of the subordinate judiciary and the
high courts - a task largely performed by the judiciary itself.
The differing perception of priorities of the executive and judiciary
on the issue of huge backlog of cases was apparent from the addresses
of the prime minister and the chief justice at the day-long annual
conference of the chief justices and the chief ministers of various
states at Vigyan Bhawan here.
The meet was also attended by Law and Justice Minister M. Veerappa
Moily and several apex court judges.
Pointing out a host of intrinsic merits and strengths for which the
Indian judiciary commands respect the world over, Manmohan Singh said:
"Despite its strengths, brilliance and dynamism, India has to suffer
the scourge of the world's largest backlog of cases."
"The expeditious elimination of this scourge is the biggest
challenge," he said, adding: "Let us take a vow to ensure that the
enormous global respect for the Indian judiciary for its path-breaking
doctrines and consistent independence be soon matched by similar
accolades for an arrear-free judicial institution."
"Like Gandhiji's common man, the focus of the judicial system should
to be to wipe every tear of every waiting litigant," he added.
The chief justice said: "As per figures available for June 30, 2009, -
there were a total of 52,592 cases pending before the Supreme Court,
an aggregate of 4,017,956 cases pending before the high courts, and
27,119,092 cases pending before all the subordinate courts put
together."
"I have repeatedly urged the need for expanding our judicial system by
ensuring the expeditious filling up of vacancies as well as the
sanctioning of more positions for judicial officers. There has
undoubtedly been a chronic shortage of judicial officers, Justice
Balakrishnan said.
"In 1987, the 124th Report of the Law Commission had indicated that
our judicial system needed to be expanded by at least five times in
order to meet the 'judge-to-population' ratio of developed nations.
That is of course a very ambitious target which may take years to
attain, but we must take gradual and firm steps in that direction,"
said the chief justice.
But the prime minister, while delivering his address after the CJI,
wanted the judiciary to first fill the existing vacancies. "The
existing vacancies in high courts are quite high in number and need to
be filled up urgently. I would urge the chief justices of high courts
to initiate proposals for quickly filling up these posts," he said.
"Vacancies at the subordinate level roughly comprise 20 to 25 percent
of subordinate judicial posts. I am told that almost 3,000 posts of
judges in the country are vacant because of delay in recruitment. All
these vacant posts at the subordinate levels need to be filled up
without any further loss of time," the prime minister added.
Manmohan Singh said that "there is scope for significant future
increase in court strength to improve India's low judge-per-million-
population ratio. This is subject, of course, to expeditious filling
of existing vacancies."
Sirs, The Prime minister termed, 3-cr pendency in courts as a
'Scourge'.If we add the number cases settled and huge number of cases
not taken to courts the 'Crimes' in the country should be termed as
more than 'Scourage'.The PM wanted, tackling these on war Footing and
he promised to take two Steps for each step taken by the courts.Apart
from these walking promised at 'Snails pace' the legislature had to
look within for this state of affairs. In a welfare state the elected
ones should worry more about the increase of crimes and criminals in
the country. The different decks of VIP security,the deployment of
huge police force everywhere though intended to reduce the crimes,we
are only seeing the additions of crimes in and through the policing.We
must have statistics to show the growth of crimes due the enactments
of various civil and criminal codes.The back logs in courts confirm
the
By Doodu
8/17/2009 2:46:00 PM CONCLD.[continued !] .Indian values of justice
are in our national ethos of 'eternal Dharma' which do NOT uphold the
socalled "conscience" of any single man or group of men, as infallible
or supreme. Our value system especially in conceptualization of
justgice is tied to the Vedic definition of SATYA (enshrined in our
national emblem SATYAMEVA JAYATE) . This Satya is not empirical truth
which, in general is, cold and deadening in practice and mechanical
and is useless to conscious human beings and a society of them. It has
to do with the fact that there are differences in the levels of
understanding of and commitment of individuals to the need for
individual good to be subordinated to that of social good and
stability with progress. Right now, one great hindrance to the
administration of justice in India is mediocre media which fashions
everything according to the requirements of a commercial and
consumerist society which capitalizes on popular ignorance. These
alien requiremnents
By Anasooya Karuppan
8/17/2009 11:36:00 AM (CONCLD) Thus the quaNTITative strength of the
judiciary is essential as a member of a duo along with the
quaLITATive, due to the natural limitations of productivity of judges
(who are human, after all, not any conscious super-computers) as well
as our increasing population size and rising numbers of offences and
crimes of multivarious kinds, and the political and executive
interpretations of the Constitutionality of the legislated laws. While
the pressures of population explosion are likely to have made the
judiciary's function all the more challenging, and difficult,
technological aids are also increasing and the judiciary process can
be made much more efficient and effective than it is today in India,
if it uses them as reliable tools through competent and unbiassed
application, and greater recourse to them, without an uncritical
rejection of them or a blind adherence to outdated methods of
investigation.Indian values of justice are in our national ethos of
'eternal Dharma' and ar
By Anasooya Karuppan
8/17/2009 11:25:00 AM Judiciary is one of the pillars of democracy.
The others are the legislature, the executie and the media. The
strength of each of these pillars is directly proportional to that of
the people's understanding of the concepts and practices of modern
democracy as it has come to mean, and their faith in its ability to
serve them in tune with their native genius, evolution and culture.
People's reliability on the democratic structure depend on the
strength of each of these pillars. In particular, the judiciary's
strength derives from its qualitative and quantitative status:
upright, fearless men of courage who are committed to the core tenet
that justice automatically becomes denied to its seeker when delayed
(except for the norms of judiciary's due processes and procedures to
get at the details of truth that need to be garnered through
investigation and study to determine and administer jusice. Thus the
quantitative strength of the judiciary is essential, due to the
limitations on the
By Anasooya Karuppan
8/17/2009 11:09:00 AM Why should courts go on longg... holidays
(summer, winter etc....) in such condition. Also laws to be made to
make lwyers and court reponsible. Any request for adjournment beyond
say 2 times should be made payable by the seeker.
By S. Desikar
8/17/2009 10:03:00 AM "If judiciary is allowed to function
indipendently, then the pendncy of cases in the court will come down
attomatically. At present, political power , pressure and mony power
sitting on the head of our judiciary from lower level to top. Can it
control by ourt stright farward Primeminister or top braz CJI KG
Balakrishnan. For an example Sipu Sorean was functioning as a union
minister and he dragged his criminal cases for several years, which
was silently witnessed by Mr Manmohan Sing. It was a shameful act on
his part. IThese acts continuse, how the judicial officers can reduce
the pendency in the courts. This is the million dollar question in the
minds of common people."
By Sathyalaya Ramakrishnan, Journalist
8/17/2009 8:30:00 AM "If judiciary is allowed to function
indipendently, then the pendncy of cases in the court will come down
attomatically. At present, political power and pressure and mony power
sitting on head of our judiciary from lower level to top. Can it
control by ourt stright farward Primeminister or top braz CJI KG
Balakrishnan. For an example Sipu Sorean was functiooning as a union
minister and he dragged his criminal cases for several years, which
was silently witnessed by Mr Manmohan Sing. It was a shameful act on
his part. If act continuse, how the judicial officers reduce the
pendency in the coourts. This is the million dollar question in the
minds of common people."
By Sathyalaya Ramakrishnan, Journalist
8/17/2009 8:25:00 AM dear on line editor, The cause of piling up
cases sas explained by SCJ Balakrishan can not be accepted on its face
value.WhaT IS THE POPULATION OF iNDIA?When ever there occurs a very
small issue it is politicalised and goes tocourt.In the court also
maximum delay is caused by advocates not apperaing on the date of
hearing etc if any journalist can just investigate few cases then it
will ve observed that cases are unnecessaruly DRAGGED in the court for
NO VALID reasons. Example One Ahaya case in Kerala a convent murder
casse.How many years it is remaining undisposed?Why?communal interest
political interference and so many invisible issues.Like this many
cases are there. Take a civil case why it should be delayed there are
only few legal points to be argued, and decided but that also will
drag on. By appointing morejudges cases will not be disposed off but
expenditure for judiciary wil increase and for acvocates more
vaccancies dated August 17th 2009 time 0337Hrs ist AM
By P.M.G Pillai
8/17/2009 3:35:00 AM Manmohan Singh is acting like a bureocratic
boss. If this is the state of affairs, how can we be assured that our
judiciary is independent? If the Chief Justice of India, where the
Judiciary is an "independent" part of our constitutional machinery
cannot decide even on the manpower requirement, then how the hell is
that Judiciary is truely independent? We seem to need constitutional
reforms to protect us from such short sighted and foolish political
bosses.
By Raman
8/16/2009 10:11:00 PM
bademiyansubhanallah
Constitutional functionaries cannot abuse their office: HC August
17th, 2009 PTI
Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court has directed the daughter of an
Uttar Pradesh minister to pay cost of Rs one lakh for "influencing"
the district administration to allot her permit of a fair price shop,
depriving a woman, the petitioner, of her source of livelihood.
Justice Devi Prasad Singh pronounced the judgement on August 12 on a
writ petition filed by Niyamat Jahan, a resident of Moradabad
district.
In her petition, Jahan alleged that her fair price shop licence was
cancelled because the Minister wanted it to be allotted to his
daughter Shahin.
The judge directed the Minister's daughter to pay cost (compensation)
of Rs one lakh to the petitioner within two months.
He also directed the Uttar Pradesh government to restore the licence
in favour of the petitioner forthwith.
In his ruling, the judge observed "the persons holding high offices in
the country, which include constitutional functionaries like
ministers, cannot abuse their office for some unlawful purpose.
"Their action is always under constant public watch. It is unfortunate
that the minister had influenced the district administration for the
grant of permit in favour of his daughter, depriving the petitioner
the source of livelihood."
The Court ordered that out of Rs one lakh, the petitioner should be
allowed to withdraw Rs 75,000 while Rs 25,000 should be remitted to
the mediation centre of the Allahabad High Court.
bademiyansubhanallah
Finally, a dozen years late, the Sonia-Manmohan Congress takes a small
Rajivist step: Yes Prime Minister, our Judiciary is indeed a premier
public good (or example of “infrastructure” to use that dreadful
bureaucratic term)
August 18, 2009 — drsubrotoroy
I was very harsh and did not beat about the bush in my Sep 23-24 2007
article in The Statesman “Against Quackery” when I said in its
subtitle
“Manmohan and Sonia have violated Rajiv Gandhi’s intended reforms”.
I said inter alia
“WASTE, fraud and abuse are inevitable in the use and allocation of
public property and resources in India as elsewhere, but Government is
supposed to fight and resist such tendencies. The Sonia-Manmohan
Government have done the opposite, aiding and abetting a wasteful anti-
economics ~ i.e., an economic quackery. Vajpayee-Advani and other
Governments, including Narasimha-Manmohan in 1991-1996, were just as
complicit in the perverse policy-making.
So have been State Governments of all regional parties like the CPI-M
in West Bengal, DMK/ AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, Congress/NCP/ BJP/Sena in
Maharashtra, TDP /Congress in Andhra Pradesh, SP/BJP/BSP in Uttar
Pradesh etc. Our dismal politics merely has the pot calling the kettle
black while national self-delusion and superstition reign in the
absence of reason.
The general pattern is one of well-informed, moneyed, mostly city-
based special interest groups (especially including organised capital
and organised labour) dominating government agendas at the cost of ill-
informed, diffused anonymous individual citizens ~ peasants, small
businessmen, non-unionized workers, old people, housewives, medical
students etc….Rajiv Gandhi had a sense of noblesse oblige out of
remembrance of his father and maternal grandfather. After his
assassination, the comprador business press credited Narasimha Rao and
Manmohan Singh with having originated the 1991 economic reform. In May
2002, however, the Congress Party itself passed a resolution proposed
by Digvijay Singh explicitly stating Rajiv and not either of them was
to be so credited.
The resolution was intended to flatter Sonia Gandhi but there was
truth in it too. Rajiv, a pilot who knew no political economy, was a
quick learner with intelligence to know a good idea when he saw one
and enough grace to acknowledge it. …Rajiv was entirely convinced when
the suggestion was made to him in September 1990 that an enormous
infusion of public resources was needed into the judicial system for
promotion and improvement of the Rule of Law in the country, a pre-
requisite almost for a new market orientation.
Capitalism without the Rule of Law can quickly degenerate into an
illiberal hell of cronyism and anarchy which is what has tended to
happen since 1991. The resources put since Independence to the proper
working of our judiciary from the Supreme Court and High Courts
downwards have been abysmal, while the state of prisons, borstals,
mental asylums and other institutions of involuntary detention is
nothing short of pathetic. Only police forces, like the military,
paramilitary and bureaucracies, have bloated in size….Neither Sonia-
Manmohan nor the BJP or Communists have thought promotion of the Rule
of Law in India to be worth much serious thought ~ certainly less
important than attending bogus international conclaves and summits to
sign expensive deals for arms, aircraft, reactors etc.
Yet Rajiv Gandhi, at a 10 Janpath meeting on 23 March 1991 when he
received the liberalisation proposals he had authorized, explicitly
avowed the importance of greater resources towards the Judiciary. Dr
Singh and his acolytes were not in that loop, indeed they precisely
represented the bureaucratic ancien regime intended to be changed, and
hence have seemed quite uncomprehending of the roots of the intended
reforms ever since 1991.”
Days after the article appeared there were press reports Dr Singh was
murmuring about quitting, and then came a fierce speech in Hindi from
the Congress President saying “enemies” would receive their dues or
whatever – only to be retracted a few days later saying that no more
had been meant than a local critique of the BJP in Haryana politics!
(Phew! I said to myself in relief…)
Today I am very happy to learn that Dr Manmohan Singh spoke on Sunday
of the importance of the Rule of Law and an effective and efficient
judiciary. The new Law Minister in the second Sonia-Manmohan
Government has been eagerly saying the same.
All this is constructive and positive, late as it is since Sonia
Gandhi and Manmohan Singh both became heavy-duty Congress Party
politicians for the first time a dozen years ago.
I was privileged to advise a previous Congress President in his last
months from September 1990 as has been told elsewhere. And six years
before that I had said: “….….The most serious examples of the
malfunctioning of civil government in India are probably the failure
to take feasible public precautions against the monsoons and the
disarray of the judicial system. …The Statesman lamented in July 1980:
`The simplest matter takes an inordinate amount of time, remedies
seldom being available to those without means or influence. Of the
more than 16,000 cases pending in the Supreme Court, about 5,000 were
introduced more than five years ago; while nearly 16,000 of the
backlog of more than 600,000 cases in our high courts have been
hanging fire for over a decade. Allahabad is the worst offender but
there are about 75,000 uncleared cases in the Calcutta High Court in
addition to well over a million in West Bengal’s lower courts.
” Such a state of affairs has been caused not only by lazy and corrupt
policemen, court clerks and lawyers, but also by the paucity of judges
and magistrates. . . . a vast volume of laws provokes endless
litigation as much because of poor drafting which leads to disputes
over interpretation as because they appear to violate particular
rights and privileges…. When governments determinedly do what they
need not or should not do, it may be expected that they will fail to
do what civil government positively should be doing.” A few months
ago was the 25th anniversary of this statement… !
Yes Prime Minister, having an effective and efficient judiciary is
indeed a premier public good and one that has failed to be provided to
India’s people from Nehru’s time and through Indira’s. I managed to
persuade Rajiv about it completely. Might I next be so bold as to draw
attention as well to the paragraphs of the 2007 article that followed?
“Similarly, Rajiv comprehended when it was said to him that the
primary fiscal problem faced by India is the vast and uncontrolled
public debt, interest payments on which suck dry all public budgets
leaving no room for provision of public goods. Government accounts:
Government has been routinely “rolling over” its domestic debt in the
asset-portfolios of the nationalised banks while displaying and
highlighting only its new additional borrowing in a year as the
“Fiscal Deficit”. More than two dozen States have been doing the same
and their liabilities ultimately accrue to the Union too.
The stock of public debt in India is Rs 30 trillion (Rs 30 lakh crore)
at least, and portends a hyperinflation in the future. There has been
no serious recognition of this since it is political and bureaucratic
actions that have been causing the problem. Proper recognition would
entail systematically cleaning up the budgets and accounts of every
single governmental entity in the country: the Union, every State,
every district and municipality, every publicly funded entity or
organisation, and at the same time improving public decision-making
capacity so that once budgets and accounts recover from grave sickness
over decades, functioning institutions exist for their proper future
management. All this would also stop corruption in its tracks, and
release resources for valuable public goods and services like the
Judiciary, School Education and Basic Health. Institutions for
improved political and administrative decision-making are needed
throughout the country if public preferences with respect to raising
and allocating common resources are to be elicited and then translated
into actual delivery of public goods and services.
Our dysfunctional legislatures will have to do at least a little of
what they are supposed to. When public budgets and accounts are
healthy and we have functioning public goods and services,
macroeconomic conditions would have been created for the paper-rupee
to once more become a money as good as gold ~ a convertible world
currency for all of India’s people, not merely the metropolitan
special interest groups that have been controlling our governments and
their agendas.”
Subroto Roy
Kolkata
bademiyansubhanallah
Modi suggests 'paradigm shift' in judicial system
8/17/2009
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi called for a "paradigm shift" in
the judicial process and a priority to trials of cases requiring
urgent attention and those having serious implications for society and
the country.
Speaking at the Conference of Chief Ministers of states and Chief
Justices of High Courts, Mr Modi also suggested a CJI of India
Fellowship Programme and a comprehensive action plan for grooming
young lawyers and future jurists.
Calling for remedial measures for affordable and timely justice to
common man, the Gujarat Chief Minister said a "paradigm shift in the
judicial process and management of litigation" is necessary to speed
up in the disposal of cases and provision of justice at minimum cost.
He said there were several constraints including lack of adequate
infrastructure, manpower (judicial officers), efficient evaluating and
monitoring systems, adequate flow of funds and easy accessibility
which hampered effective management of litigation and it is needed to
be addressed.
Deliberating on judicial reforms, Mr Modi suggested training of law
students, in line with business management students, with
specialisation in specific areas to deal with complex cases involving
criminal, business and commercial.
He also called for setting up judicial impact assessment like impact
assessment of any other development or infrastructure project.
He said the Union Government and the Supreme Court should take up a
pilot project under which 100 judgments at Taluka level, 50 at
district level, 25 at High Court level and 10 at Supreme Court level
may be selected to make an assessment of how these judgments had made
impact on the society.
Similarly, such judgments might also be selected for assessment which
have adversely affected the interests of the society and the State.
UNI
bademiyansubhanallah
Indian Judiciary is held in very high esteem: Law Minister
8/16/2009
The Union Law and Justice Minister, Shri Veerappa Moily has said that
the Indian Judiciary is held in very high esteem not only in this
country and the other developing countries but also in the developed
countries of the world. He said this while addressing the Joint
Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts in New
Delhi today.
Shri Moily said that in her address to the Parliament the Hon’ble
President had highlighted the urgency to usher in judicial reforms. He
said that Preliminary discussions have been held with key figures in
justice implementation and we have called for a National Consultation
on the issue of Judicial Reforms which will be held shortly. He added
that that administrative reforms are a concomitant part of judicial
reforms, and that transparency, good governance, fairness in decision
making and impartiality of administration are all fundamental to the
rule of law. Following is the text of the Union Law and Justice
Minister on the occasion: -
“Another important aspect is that of making justice more easily
accessible to the people particularly in the rural areas. The Gram
Nyayalayas Act, 2008 which enables setting up of Nyayalayas in the
Intermediate Panchayat levels is a revolutionary way of bringing
justice closer to people. The concept of Gram Nyayalayas is quite
unique in contrast to the Gram Panchayat contemplated in the Panchayat
Act. This will have a 1st Class Magistrate and deals with offences and
relief under IPC, Central Acts, and relief under the State Acts (to be
notified by the State Governments) as contemplated in the 1st Schedule
of Part I, II and III of the Act and also civil disputes, property
disputes and other disputes. These Courts contemplate summary
proceedings and a time bound disposal within six months of the
institution of the case. Once in operation, justice will be brought to
the doorsteps of the common man.
I, therefore, urge that we put our act together to operationalise the
Gram Nayalayas in the quickest time and that we start our first phase
within six months.
I would like to inform that information and communication technology
has been introduced in the Supreme Court, in 21 High Courts as well as
around 15,000 District and Subordinate Courts in the Country. The
Central Government has already sanctioned Rs. 442 crores in the first
phase of its judicial reforms consequent to which computerization to
the extent of laptops, laser printers, internet connectivity in the
Court complexes and home offices of 13,250 judicial offices in the
country has already been achieved. Training of Judges and Court staff
in the use of information and communication technology is afoot. We
are also thinking of developing 3000 sites in all the court complexes
where hardware would be procured and application software would be
developed and standardized.
I would request your cooperation in successfully implementing the
project of computerization of the courts which is ultimately to be
owned by the judiciary for better delivery of services and
transparency to the stakeholders. My Ministry also implements a scheme
for development of infrastructure for the judiciary where assistance
is provided for construction of court buildings and residential
accommodation for the judicial officers.
The Fast Track Courts were established on the recommendation of the
Eleventh Finance Commission have made a significant impact in disposal
of long pending sessions cases and cases of under-trial prisoners. The
scheme which was initially up to 31.3.2005 has been continued upto
31.3.2010 and central assistance continues to be provided for this
extended period. The matter of continuation of the Fast Track Courts
beyond 31.3.2010 needs to be considered and may be deliberated here.
In order to improve the credibility of the system there is a need to
make the optimum use of the available infrastructure and resources
including human resources. Capacity building of our judicial officers
will help the judiciary in their performance and will also bring in a
sense of higher commitment.
As per Memorandum of Procedure for the appointment of judges, Chief
Justices of High Courts are expected to initiate proposals 6 months in
advance for filling up vacancies. This must be done so that the
vacancies are filled up in time. Care should be taken to recommend
candidates which have proven competence and un-impeachable integrity.
The huge pendency in the courts is a matter of great concern to all of
us. More than 2.5 crore cases are reportedly pending in the lower
courts of the country and if we add numbers pending in the High Courts
and the Supreme Court, the number may as well exceed 3.5 crore. Apart
from the pendency and delays, what has been worrying most of us, is
the number of under-trials in jails. Some of these under-trials have
been in jails for a much longer period than they would have served if
the sentence had been pronounced. At this Conference, we should devote
some time to these issues also and come up with some workable
solutions which can be implemented in a time bound manner.
We intend to evolve a national litigation policy by which the
Government is able to fight cases with discretion and care. The
Government is in agreement with Hon’ble the Chief Justice of India
that an attitude of taking firm, independent and impartial decisions
if adopted by the Government would itself lead to a substantial
reduction of arrears and would definitely control the inflow of
litigation into the Courts of Justice. The major litigants/departments
are advised to work out an integral mechanism to reduce litigation and
resolve within the Government. This needs to be done at the State
level also. There are also litigations between PSUs of the State
Governments and PSUs of Union of India and also between State and
Union of India and also vice versa too. This can also be dealt by a
mechanism as it is done in case of PSUs of Union of India.
I welcome the concept of ‘… National Minimum Court Performance
Standards…’ which are being visualized by the Judiciary. We in the
Government must also have Judicial Infrastructure Supplement Standards
so that the performance standards as visualized by the judiciary are
effectively achieved. It may be noted that in a fairly ambitious
programme the judiciary today visualizes that its disposal level must
be hiked upto 95-100% of total case load in 5 years. Keeping this fact
in view, our senior Law Officers, the Attorney General and the
Solicitor General, are looking at a blueprint by which this target is
achieved within 3 years. I may add that in order to achieve such
progressively high targets, it would be necessary for the Central
Government and the State Governments to address issues of allocation
of expenditure, swift budgetary estimates, single window clearances
and rationalization of methods of accounts and audit.
We are also of the opinion that alternative dispute resolution methods
must be adopted as a means of exploring conciliation, mediation as
well as arbitration in a fair and transparent as well as effective
manner. I am also happy to note that pursuant to the legislative
intent behind Section 89-A of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, every
High Court has a Conciliation and Mediation Centre. However, we are
conscious that mediation and conciliation are not ordinary techniques
of dispute resolution but require new skills and forms of knowledge in
order to achieve synergy between the conflicting parties.
At present, we are also reviewing the various Law Commission Reports
and tabulating their final recommendations. These recommendations will
be implemented by the Government by resorting to introduction of
necessary amendment acts before the Parliament.
With the rapid increase in commerce and trade, following
privatization, liberalization and globalization, commercial disputes
involving high stakes are likely to increase. Unless there is a new
and effective mechanism for resolving them speedily and efficiently,
progress will be retarded. Foreign investors in India must be assured
that the Indian Courts are as fast as the courts in the most developed
countries of the world and that there are no longer any long delays in
the judicial process.
The Law Commission of India in its 188th Report on “Proposals for
Constitution of Hi-Tech Fast-Track Commercial Division in High Courts”
has recommended for constitution of Commercial Divisions in each High
Courts so that they may handle ‘commercial cases’ of high threshold
value on fast track basis. We should see how to bring this in force
early. Law Commission 79th report drew attention to the unhealthy
practice of the long delay in pronouncements of judgments and
emphasised the need for reducing the lag between conclusion of
arguments and pronouncement of judgments should not exceed one month
except in some special matters. This recommendation must be taken
seriously by all the members of the judicial fraternity.
Section 35 of the Civil Procedure Code deals with the award of costs
and section 35A deals with the award of compensatory costs in respect
of false or vexatious claims or defences. The Courts should make use
of these sections more vigorously to prevent the abuse of legal
process by vested interests. We are also conscious that in today’s
world where the entire globe is a village, mobility of weapons and
money are also problems which have to be faced by our laws and we
must, therefore, enact provisions for these crimes which have
developed on account of changes in the social fabric as well as the
monetary systems in the world.
Judicial Impact Assessment requires both the State Government and the
Central Government to make proper assessment of the requirement of
impact of new laws of litigants/courts and to fully build the capacity
in the Court while new legislations are made. A mechanism needs to be
put in place both at the National and State level to make an appraisal
while passing any new legislation. Justice Rao Committee had gone into
this area and has made valuable recommendations which the Government
is committed to implement without delay. This will address the problem
of resource allocation to the judiciary.
During the Eleventh Five Year Plan an allocation of Rs. 1470 crores
has been provided to the administration of the justice as against Rs.
700 crores during the Tenth Five Year Plan. Even this allocation would
have to be stepped up substantially with our commitment to introduce
more courts specially the Gram Nyayalayas for which the Central
Government is committed to spend Rs. 1400 crores. The delivery of
qualitative justice to our citizens is a promise for which all of us –
as the executive, the legislature and the judiciary – are equally
responsible. We must also realize that effective justice delivery
mechanisms are substantial alleviants for social tensions and, in
fact, go a long way in bringing about equanimity, restoring faith in
the rule of law, and above all, in the very essentials of a democratic
way of life.
We should be committed that the quality of justice must never be
compromised and the essential elements of fairness, equality and
impartiality must always be ensured. We are also aware that all
citizens expect justice like a consumer product. Both the executive
and the judiciary have to maintain and satisfy the tests of
confidence, reliability and dependability.
We are glad to note that Hon’ble the Chief Justice of India has
acknowledged repeatedly that judicial responsibility; accountability
and independence are in every sense inseparable with the notions of
fairness and rule of law. The appropriate steps are under way to
respond to these needs of the hour and we will soon present a Vision
Statement to the Hon’ble Prime Minister for the purpose of outlining
the way forward for the Judiciary.”
PIB
bademiyansubhanallah
Prime Minister calls for 'Arrear Free' Judicial system
8/16/2009
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called upon the judiciary and executive
to work together to make the Indian judicial system arrear-free and
stressed the need of urgently filling the large number of vacancies in
the High Courts and subordinate courts to accomplish this task.
Speaking at the Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices
here, Dr Singh said the elimination of vast number of pending cases in
the Indian courts is the biggest challenge before the judiciary.
The Prime Minister wanted the Supreme Court to play a vital role in
‘this war of arrears.’ The apex court has to ‘be a catalyst, an
organiser, a mentor, an umpire, a participant, and, above all, a role
model, all at the same time, ‘ he said and assured of all cooperation
from the government.
‘We promise to match each step of the judiciary with two of our own.
We will not hesitate to walk the extra mile at every opportunity,’ he
added.
Dr Singh said the people’s faith has been reposed in the judicial
organ in a very large measure, and the legal system was manned by
legal luminaries second to none in the world.
Pointing to the innovative legal doctrines and precepts evolved by the
judiciary like the ‘basic structure doctrine’ and ‘public interest
litigation’, he said these had showed new paths to jurisprudence.
‘Judicial review has breached unprecedented frontiers. Yet, amidst
such strengths, brilliance and dynamism, India has to suffer the
scourge of the world’s largest backlog of cases and timelines which
generate surprise globally and concern at home. The expeditious
elimination of this scourge is the biggest challenge for such
conferences and should constitute the highest priority for all of us,’
said Dr Singh.
UNI
bademiyansubhanallah
At internal security meet, politics takes front seat
Raghvendra Rao
Posted: Tuesday , Aug 18, 2009 at 0853 hrs
New Delhi:
It was a platform to discuss matters relating to internal security.
But by the time some of the Chief Ministers, mainly from the NDA-ruled
states, had spoken on the subject at hand at the Chief Ministers’
Conference held on Monday, the politics that had managed to find its
way into their respective agendas was quite evident.
While Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi chose to raise the scope
for misuse of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) with the
possibility of the agency “transgressing into subject domains of the
state government”, he also made it a point to express shock at the
Centre opposing the Gujarat Control of Organized Crime (GUJCOC) Bill
proposed by his government.
“I fail to understand why the central government should oppose
provisions which are already part of similar Acts in Karnataka and
Maharashtra,” he said, requesting the Centre to recommend the Bill for
Presidential assent as it had been passed by the Assembly again.
Modi, meanwhile, claimed credit for the points raised by him finding
their way into the 14-point agenda finalised at the end of the
conference.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan invoked “Hon’ble
Advaniji” to make his point that under the police modernisation scheme
initiated by the former Deputy Prime Minister, “we had an outlay of Rs
112 crore which has now come down to just Rs 50 crore”. He expressed
regret that the Centre did not increase the outlay for such an
important scheme.
Batting for a tough law against organised crime, Chouhan said the
internal security would always be under danger unless crime syndicates
were tackled. “There is already an act to thwart and counter both
terror activities and organised crime in the state of Maharashtra. It
has also passed the strict test of judicial review. The Madhya Pradesh
Assembly has also debated and passed a similar legislation,” Chouhan
said asking that the Bill, currently pending for Presidential assent,
be passed.
In his address, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar made it clear in the
very beginning that he will not dwell upon the points on the agenda
item since they had been “transmitted earlier to the central
government” and instead chose to raise what he called “some basic
issues”.
Insisting on maintenance of regular flow of All India Service officers
from the states to the Centre and vice-versa, he said, “The recent
trend I have noticed is that the Government of India routinely asks
for extension of the deputation period of IPS officers serving under
them.”
“A lot of pressure is brought upon state officials to recommend their
cases. This has a demoralizing effect on officers who are waiting in
line to go on central deputation¿.I strongly urge you to have this
enquired into and see whether for many of the IPS officers there have
been persistent requests for extension of deputation period,” he
added.
He also stated that the Centre had been penalising states that have
not performed well in the past. “This is clearly a case of double
jeopardy. Past performance cannot be the criteria for blocking future
release of funds,” he said.
CommentsPost commentView all Comments (5) |
At internal security meet, politics takes front seat
By: Parminder Singh | 18-Aug-2009
Politicians will always be politicians, nothing, even a serious issue
like internal security, would persuade them to talk or act in the
interest of the State/country. Mr Modi has been drumming up the
Gujarat Act, which is very stringent, and can again be misused in
Gujarat. Be that as it may, I feel Central Government/ Home Minister
or Law Minister or the Prime Minister, must clearly state the reasons
for not allowing it to become an Act. Is there is a Constitutional
problem, i.e., that some provisions are ultra vires of the
Constitution ? Or is it that the Act under which Maharashtra got the
Act, is no longer available now! Why can't the Central Government make
the position clear so that he is stopped whenever he raises the point?
GUJCOC why you are not as like other CMs in India who are staisfied
with existing laws?
By: T.Arulmony | 18-Aug-2009
There are laws to curb terrorism. Then why Mr. Modi go for GUJCOC.To
destroy the minority by using GUJCOC. Does he wants to have a separate
country with in India by talking too much about the terrorist. I
visited Gujarat few months back.Roads are very good.But people walking
half necked on the road in the hot sun.In Ahbdabad people live on
pavement. We are all for the safety and security of our own people and
attack from out side.The internal problems like, poor sanitation,
poverty, unemployment, starvation, street children, poor production in
farming sector, encroaching farm lands,drought etc need to be
addressed. Let Mr. Modi visit his people in the state, He sees people
from political dais only.Kind enough to give land and big loan for ½
percent interest.People in Gujarat looking for loan even 8% for
construction of houses,replace huts,pay for delivery,hospitals,buy
groceries and food commodities.Why you are taking too much about
GUJCOC.Try to kill minorities and innocent?
politics at meet
By: sidarth | 18-Aug-2009
congress led government at centre is responsible for the backwardness
of bihar. it is congress who is responsible for last 10 years
disasterous rule of Lalu yadav and his family in bihar, now the MMS
government is doing the same thing. in bihar at present only food
industry can grow rapidly , but agriculture minister is not allowing
for the production of ethnol.
is raising one's voice politics?
By: arun kumar | 18-Aug-2009
Chief Ministers are not priests of temple - they have come to power
through politics. Political science is a subject in Colleges and
University than why so much allergy to the word politics. If NDA chief
Ministers are raising political issues they should be complimented
because their counterparts belonging to UPA would not raise any thing -
and what should this be this called? Sycophancy or not? Is Politics
monopoly of Nehru dynasty or they are only true Indians serving India
with no political or personal interest? There is no answer to the
legitimate point raised by Mr. Narendra Modi - about not giving assent
to the bill twice passed by assembly when similar laws are already
existing in UPA ruled states - then what is this worship of Lord
Minority? We are such a hypocrite society that sometimes one is just
even ashamed to identify oneself as a part of this spineless double
speaking society.Congress leaders were lawyers without brief and may
be not knowing that politics is science.
What is wrong w. these issues raised ? Dont try to frame NDA by
'CREATING' NEWS
By: vinaya | 18-Aug-2009
WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO POLITICIZE THE ISSUES RAISED ?tHESE ARE ALL
VALID ISSUES, DONT TRY TO CREATE NEWS BY FRAMING THE NDA RULED STATES.
THOSE ARE THE ONLY JUST STATES LEFT NOW IN INDIA -- IS THAT WHAT YOU
ARE TRYING TO SAY ?GROW UP AND REPORT FACTS, DONT TRY TO CREATE
FICTION NEWS OUT OF FACTS.
bademiyansubhanallah
In attendance
The Indian Express
Tue, Aug 18 06:53 AM
If they were a nation, it would be as populous as Canada. But India's
31.2 million pending court cases don't have Canada's size to spread
out in style. For our ill-equipped, creaky, starved-for-space judicial
system simply cannot
afford this heavy a burden, nor can a society as unequal as ours wait
this long for delivery. Which is why Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and
Chief Justice of India K.G.
Balakrishnan's joint acknowledgment of the need to tackle judicial
pendencies is timely. Speaking at the recent conference of chief
ministers and high court chief justices, the prime minister sounded
almost Churchillian when he said that such a high number of delayed
cases "cannot... disillusion or dishearten us. It has to spur us to
even higher peaks."
One of the biggest causes of delay is the lack of judges to man the
courts. Singh has asked high court chief justices to fill up these
vacancies. As he noted, there are about 3,000 judicial posts vacant
all over India. Vacancies in the subordinate judiciary are a
particular problem: almost one fourth of these are empty. The CJI
suggests that high court judges also increase their workload from a
current 210 workdays a year (that's 155 days of holiday every year),
to 220 — an additional 10 working days per year. In the alternative,
high court judges can work an extra half hour per day. Given that our
case load is one of the world's worst, these measures are perhaps too
conservative, and the debate, once begun, may beget more aggressive
solutions.
The CJI added that while court dockets are bursting at the seams,
justice is increasingly inaccessible to India's disempowered millions.
It is true, without doubt, that solving delays alone does not make
justice more accessible. But it is a good way to begin. Filling up
vacancies and modestly denting the many holidays judges enjoy don't
require the courage and heart that the prime minister asks of us.
These obvious measures require just a bit of plain sense. With both
the prime minister and chief justice of India on the same page, the
next step is implementation. It is hoped that these ideas aimed at
combating delay are not caught up in, well, delay.
bademiyansubhanallah
SIMPLE AND FAST
The prime minister is quite right in being appalled at the number of
pending cases in the Indian courts. At around 30 million, the count is
the highest in the world, and nothing could be more grimly ironic than
this for the world’s largest democracy. Every bit of the cliché about
justice delayed is brutally true, and the war footing on which the
clearing of this pile-up has been urged by Manmohan Singh can only
work if the problem is tackled at both the procedural and what Mr
Singh calls the “holistic” levels. It is impossible to reduce the
problem to merely hurrying things up. The entire notion of, and
attitude to, justice and its delivery will have to change
fundamentally after some hard thinking.
It is true that recruiting more judges when there are about 3,000
vacancies in the country looks like the most immediate solution,
together with the setting up of more fast-track courts, particularly
in the rural areas. But if the new recruits and their new workplaces
continue functioning with the old mindset, then it will be difficult
to make much of a difference. An ancient and deeply entrenched love of
red tape that mires the judicial system in a needless and wholly
dispensable labyrinth of procedure is the primary cause of this
phenomenal pile-up of cases. This is partly because such delay is in
the interest of a great many people all along the line, and partly
because judicial reformism never really goes to the heart of the
matter when tackling the problem.
There is immense scope for the streamlining of legal process. To take
one example, think of how much easier and more accessible things will
become for the ordinary “consumer of justice” (and for its dispensers)
if legal language were made simpler and closer to normal language
without taking away its precision.
Finally, a huge number of pending cases have to do with land and
property disputes. These cases do not usually involve complicated
applications of the law and could be disposed of fairly quickly if the
judicial process is minimalized systematically. Clear thinking and the
cutting out of procedural junk would make the handling of these cases
more efficient — and therefore less harrowing for everybody concerned.
It is best not to regard such moves with a sort of conservative
suspicion. Law must overcome its antipathy towards, perhaps even fear
of, simplification before it can become truly and promptly just.
Sid Harth
Of the freedom to revel and to abstain
Submitted by admin
4 on 20 August 2009 - 11:34am.
By Shobha Shukla, CNS,
The Supreme Court of India has ordered a closure of all slaughter
houses and eateries serving non vegetarian food for nine days,
starting 15th August, all over the country. This has been done in
deference to the wishes of the Jain community during the holy period
of their Paryushan Parva.
A two member bench, consisting of Justice HK Sema and Justice
Markandey Katju, while passing this order observed that though ‘the
order did affect the fundamental right to carry out a trade or
profession, but it was not unreasonable and was within the ambit of
Article 19(2) which provides for reasonable restriction for
maintaining public order and peace among other things.’
The Court also asked the public in general ‘not to be over sensitive
and touchy about a short restriction when it is being done out of
respect for the sentiments of a particular section of society.’ Yet,
the common wo(man) down the street is wondering ‘ why shpuld anyone’s
business suffer because of a religious festival in some community? Is
it necessary to let others starve and suffer to show respect to one
particular sect?’; or ‘how can one hurt one finger of the hand to
please the others?’
It seems that the Apex Court of a secular country believes in the
Orwellian dictum of ‘all men are equal in a democracy, but some are
more equal than others.’ The Jains are a very rich, powerful and
influential community of India, which is laudable indeed. But does
their affluence give them the right to force their diktat on the not
so powerful? And does this nine day moratorium mean that the community
will lose its religion for the rest of the year.
This order could very well open a hornet’s nest. India is a country of
religious festivities. We celebrate some festival or the other almost
every day. And most of us do exercise some control over our senses by
abstaining from certain things/actions periodically without offending
the free spirit of others. Promoting vegetarianism is alright but
gagging the taste buds in the name of creating peace and harmony is
ludicrous. Things would not stop here. The 30 crore Muslims of India
may now feel it within their rights to demand that the entire nation
observe fast during their holy month of Ramzan every year. Not only
this, they may also ask for a total ban on any merrymaking and any
type of festivities during this austere period (as happens in some
orthodox Arab countries). The Hindus would not like to be left behind
and ask for similar draconian restrictions during the nine days period
of ‘navratras’, held twice every year.
Will this create peace and harmony or a religious divide in a country
already torn apart by factionalism and communalism? By succeeding in
getting this order passed, the Jains have come out as an intolerant
community, which cares only for itself. It does not care if people
will suffer financially and gastronomically and find this stupid rule
as a violation of their freedom. We should not forget that all
communities are free to follow their rites and rituals as long as they
do not infringe upon the rights of the others.
The Supreme Court seems to be too eager to please the religious
sentiments of the miniscule Jain population of our country. Surely it
would not be averse to the pressing health needs of millions of
Indians and would not hesitate to pass similar strictures against
smoking and tobacco consumption which has proven medical ill effects
and is the bane of the country, nay the world.
The Court would render a great service to humanity if it would
likewise stop the sale and consumption of all tobacco products for a
nine day period, to start with. It might affect the business of
multinationals, but surely this would be a small price to pay for a
noble cause impacting the health and well being of all castes,
communities and religions alike, and not just pampering the ludicrous
sentiments of a particular section of society.
Sid Harth
All-India judicial service
It’s a ludicrous idea
by Justice Rajindar Sachar
NO, “My Lord”, the Chief Justice of India (or should it be “Your
Honour”, reiterating the 1971 decision by the present Supreme Court) —
the judiciary does not “impliedly obey” the law passed by Parliament —
the judiciary owes allegiance only to the Constitution of India and to
their own conscience. That is why I am somewhat sad that the CJI
should have indirectly suggested that judges are not willing on their
own to file the statement of assets and the same to be made available
to the public — especially when the judges do so in the US, Britain
and other Commonwealth countries.
One can appreciate the anxiety to have some provision to prevent
vexatious or scandalous accusations by mischievous persons (though it
must be remembered that these hazards are common to all public
officials whether in the executive or the legislature).
Of course, the self-patting by the legislators that they disclose
their assets at the time of filing their nominations is conveniently
sidetracked by the fact that it was only under the Supreme Court
directions in the PUCL case that this requirement is now being
followed reluctantly.
Of course, a question may well be raised not by the judiciary because
it does not enter into public debate but by the electorate as to what
percentage of legislators, including the members of Parliament, have
filed or are filing their statement of assets regularly and whether
such information will be available under the Right to Information
Act.
Some may even embarrass the legislators by making a polite enquiry
about the fate of the Lok Pal Bill which has been promised by
different party governments for over last 30 years. Is it that
legislators’ accountability is less urgent than judicial
accountability? It must be emphasised that overwhelming members of the
bar and the judiciary themselves are in favour of a law on judicial
accountability by a panel which will not only have an in-house
membership but will also include a representative from outside jointly
selected by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. Let
the judiciary or the legislature not try to score points against each
other. Both are integral and essential to our democratic polity — only
demarcation of the functions of each is to be recognised and
respected.
It is a heartening gesture that the conference has advised the high
courts to increase their work period from the present 210 to 220 days,
but this seems to have been watered down by suggesting an alternative
of increasing half an hour extra every day. In my opinion, the
straightaway increase of 10 days is the only correct method — the
increase of half an hour will be merely cosmetic.
It may be further suggested that on the same parity of reasoning the
Supreme Court will also increase its work period to at least 200 days
with a full working day on Monday and Friday. Let me hasten to add,
however, that at least 70 per cent of 52 Saturdays are utilised by
judges in completing judgements and orders unlike the executive who
have all 52 Saturdays either as a holiday or on a foreign jaunt.
Similarly, one hopes the executive will also work out the days it
works. So, why pick on the judiciary alone?
Parliament, even according to the Vice-President and former Speaker
Somnath Chatterjee, has much to answer — the sittings of the
Parliament are becoming less and less and the actual work the minimal.
Let us remember what the great Saint Kabir said, “I went out to search
a bad person, but could not find anyone. But when I looked within
myself, I realised that none was worse than myself”. To be honest, we
all are in the embarrassing position of an en emperor proudly standing
in a bath tub but none pointed out till the innocent child shouted,
“the emperor has no clothes”. So, no one can point one’s figure at the
other excepting the real sovereign under our Constitution — the people
of India.
The conference rightly did not approve of the constitution of a All-
India judicial service. The whole idea is ludicrous — this was
rejected as far back as 1985 by the chief justices’ conference. It is
well known that in the court, proceedings upto the district level are
carried out in the language of the state. Thus, only in the Hindi-
speaking states of UP, MP and Bihar, persons selected from these
states could be transferred within. In all other states, i.e. Andhra
Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Punjab, it is impossible to post a
person from outside the state because of his non-familiarity with the
state language.
The illustration given of an All-India judicial service like the IAS
and IPS is completely off the mark. The requirement of their being
familiar with the state language is rudimentary and only minimal — at
a higher level they use English in the administration. Judgements of
the courts are a serious business requiring a deep knowledge of the
state language.
Also at present the High Court is the final controlling and
disciplinary authority over the subordinate judiciary. But if you have
an All-India Judicial Service then will the disciplinary authority
change every time a judge is transferred from one state to another.
And also in an all-India Administrative Service the authority of the
Central government is supreme with limited powers given to the state
governments. Who then will be the ultimate authority — the Supreme
Court obviously can not take the load? So, will the Central government
by this invidious tactic claim to be the ultimate disciplinary
authority? This impinging by the executive would be the surest way to
strike at the independence of the judiciary.
It is regrettable that the chief justices conference did not decide
that in the interest of continuity and familiarly with the working of
the state judiciary, a local chief justice is a must — the present
practice of appointing chief justices outside their parent courts and
many a time for as short a period as three months or six months has
dealt a severe blow to the prestige and harmonious working of the high
courts, and serious laxity in the supervision of the lower judiciary.
As for the uncle-nephew nexus, a chief justice of a high court had
effectively enforced an order that the cases of relations of judges
will not be posted before any other judge whose relations are also
practising in the same high court.
Another embarrassing reflection on the judiciary is the misdemeanour
of cases pending for a long time against High Court Judges being
discussed publicly because the Supreme Court is not taking a final
decision.
Let me put in a caveat by invoking Justice Holmes of the US Supreme
Court who said, “I trust that no one will understand me to be speaking
with disrespect of the law, because I criticise it so freely………but one
may criticise even what one reveres……. And I should show less than
devotion, if I did not do what in me lies to improve it.”
The writer is a former Chief Justice of the High Court of Delhi.
...and I am Sid harth
Sid Harth
Office of profit
SC upholds Parliament’s power
The Supreme Court has rightly upheld the constitutional validity of
the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Act, 2006,
which adds to the list of offices of profit that do not disqualify the
holders thereof for being chosen as or for being the Members of
Parliament. A Bench consisting of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan,
Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice J.M. Panchal has not only upheld
Parliament’s power to amend the Act but also rejected the petitioners’
contention that there was “no rational criterion for the wholesale
exemption” of 55 offices of profit from the disqualification rule by
means of the impugned legislation. It agreed with the submission of
the Centre’s counsels that Parliament’s power to enact a law with
retrospective effect on this important issue was adjudicated by the
apex court as far back as 1969 in Kanta Kathuria vs. Manak Chand
Sharma case. In this case, the court clearly held that when an MP
accepts an office of profit and incurs a disqualification, and such
disqualification is retrospectively removed, the MP would continue to
be a Member. Parliament’s power to enact a law includes its power to
enact such law retrospectively, it ruled.
Having examined the constitutional schemes in Articles 101 to 104, the
Bench has ruled that these Articles contained several “irrefutable
indications” that the vacancy of an MP’s seat would occur only when a
decision is rendered by the President under Article 103 which declares
that an MP has incurred a disqualification under Article 102 (1) and
not at the point of time when the MP is alleged to have incurred the
disqualification. The constitutional scheme is such that the President
takes a decision regarding an MP’s disqualification on the aid and
advice of the Election Commission.
Significantly, the Bench has ruled that the question as to which
office (or offices) should be excluded for purposes of
disqualification lies in the legislative domain. In this case,
Parliament has the power to decide what kind of office would amount to
an office of profit under the government and whether such an office of
profit is to be exempted.
Sid Harth
Assets of judges
Public disclosure would be right
Karnataka High Court Judge Justice D.V. Shylendra Kumar deserves to be
commended for having stressed the need for judges to disclose their
assets in national interest. Significantly, his views are at variance
with those of the Chief Justice of India, Justice K.G. Balakrishnan,
who had taken the position that throwing open the information to the
public may lead to harassment of judges. Justifiably, Justice
Shylendra Kumar has supported disclosure from the standpoint of the
people’s fundamental right to know under Article 19 (i) (a) of the
Constitution as also under the Right to Information Act.
Interestingly, Justice Kumar dispels the CJI’s apprehensions of the
judges’ “safety and security” in the event of their disclosing the
assets and avers that the rule of law should operate “uniformly” —
something which the Supreme Court itself had maintained in various
judicial pronouncements over the years. The Tribune, too, has been
commenting in these columns that judges, being constitutional
functionaries, should not claim any immunity from the rule of law in
the interest of transparency and accountability.
Though the Centre has deferred the introduction of the Judges
(Declaration of Assets and Liabilities) Bill, 2009, in the recent
session of Parliament, one cannot but recall the controversial Clause
VI of this Bill which required judges to declare their assets to their
superiors but spared them from being made public. Had the Bill been
passed, it would have served little public interest. No wonder, many
members had opposed it.
The need for asset disclosure has become far greater today because of
the increasing cases of corruption involving the members of the
judiciary. There is also a growing public perception that there is
lack of accountability and transparency in the judiciary. Moreover,
when most judges are known to be just and impartial, command people’s
respect and have nothing to hide, they should not be reluctant to
disclose their assets. Instead, they should come forward and support
the cause of transparency as Justice Shylendra Kumar has done.
Sid Harth
Reforming judicial system
Need to clear the backlog on war-footing
PRIME Minister Manmohan Singh has rightly called for a “war” against
the pending court cases. Addressing a conference of Chief Ministers
and Chief Justices of High Courts on Sunday, he said that a “holistic
and multi-pronged approach” was needed in this war because there was
no space for “piecemeal, patchy or sectoral responses”. Indeed, with
over 52,000 cases pending in the Supreme Court, more than 40 lakh in
the high courts and a whopping 2.71 crore in trial courts, the issue
needs to be addressed on a war-footing. Chief Justice of India K.G.
Balakrishnan has also voiced similar concern and emphasised urgent
remedial measures to help the litigants. Unfortunately, though arrears
have been increasing in the courts, the government and the judiciary
have in the past not adequately responded to well-meaning
recommendations by the Law Commission and other bodies. Justice
Balakrishnan, in his address, has referred to “structural obstacles”
which discouraged talented law graduates from joining judicial
services. He, however, does not identify what these obstacles are and
the measures required to address the problem.
The conference did help in grasping the nettle over the burning issue
of releasing 1.7 lakh-odd undertrials languishing in jails for petty
offences. The Chief Judicial Magistrates have been directed to pursue
this proposal to its logical conclusion. Clearly, their release brooks
no delay because in many cases the period of detention has overshot
the sentence that would have been awarded to them in case of
conviction. The CJI has said that those who have served more than half
the sentence likely to be awarded for their crimes could be
“immediately released on personal bond.” This is a welcome statement
of relief for these hapless people.
As there are over 3,000 vacancies of judges, there is need to
streamline the long process of recruitment through better coordination
between the executive and the judiciary. Cutting down holidays, longer
working hours, better infrastructure, recruiting retired judges and
setting up additional courts will all help. The Centre should also
implement progressive legislation such as the 2005 Plea Bargaining Act
and the 2009 Gram Nyayalaya Act. What is their purpose if they are not
implemented? Fast track courts and consumer courts should work faster
than normal courts. It is to be hoped that the new resolve to tackle
these issues would lead to more concrete results than in the past.
bademiyansubhanallah
Supreme Court Blames Influential People for Illegal Real Estate
Construction
Thu, Aug 27, 2009
Real Estate India
The Supreme Court today came down heavily on economically affluent
people, bureaucracy and civic body officials for mushrooming illegal
real estate construction in the country and ruled file noting by
ministers or officials do not have any legal validity. “Economically
affluent people and those having support of the political and
executive apparatus of the state have constructed buildings,
commercial complexes, multiplexes, malls etc. in blatant violation of
the municipal and town planning laws, master plans, zonal development
plans and even sanctioned building plans”, said a bench of Justices B
N Aggarwal and G S Singhvi in a judgement.
“In most of the cases of illegal or unauthorized constructions, the
officers of the municipal and other regulatory bodies turn blind eye
either due to the influence of higher functionaries of the State or
other extraneous reasons, the bench observed.”In most of the cases of
illegal or unauthorized constructions, the officers of the municipal
and other regulatory bodies turn a blind eye either due to the
influence of higher functionaries of the state or other extraneous
reasons, it said.
The apex court also said file notings ministers or officials do not
have any legal validity. Its ruling came while dismissing an appeal
filed by Sathish Khosla, President of Shanti Sports Club of India
which claimed to run a cricket academy at a village in Delhi. One of
the pleas of the club was that its illegally constructed sports club
should not be demolished as the then Minister for Urban Development in
1999 had noted in his file that the construction be regularised.
bademiyansubhanallah
ICICI Bank told to pay up Rs 1 lakh
Tue, Jul 14, 2009
Chandigarh Property, Legal Documents
Holding the ICICI Bank guilty of adopting Consumer Dispute, the
District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum has imposed a penalty of Rs
1 lakh on the bank
The forum has also directed the bank to overhaul the housing loan
account of the complainant who had accused the bank of arbitrary
increase in the housing loan interest
Dhakoli resident Maharaj Krishan Datta, his son Kapil Datta and
Kapil’s wife Shivani Datta in a joint complaint before the forum had
stated that they had taken a loan of Rs 13.35 lakh from the bank for
purchasing a flat in Dhakoli on November 14, 2005
The agreed rate of interest was 7.25 per cent and from April 2006 it
would be 7.75 per cent, they said
Later in October 2006, the bank sanctioned them another loan for Rs 3
lakh at an interest of 8.75 per cent
However, the bank charged an interest rate of 11.25 per cent instead
of the agreed rate of interest
For some period, it charged interest at a rate of 9.5 per cent instead
of 7.25 per cent, complainants held
The matter was taken up with the bank authorities but it did not yield
any result Complainants then approached forum
Complainant also argued that the bank was adopting unfair trade
practice in increasing the rate of interest for the old customers
whereas the prevailing rate of interest was much lower which was
depicted through their announcements and advertisements in the
newspaper while attracting new customers
During the arguments on the complaint, counsel for the bank filed a
reply stating that a loan was sanctioned to complainants at a floating
rate of 8.75 per cent , regarding which an agreement had also been
executed
The bank had increased the interest on the disbursed amount only as
per the accepted terms and condition of the loan agreement in which
complainant had opted for scheme in which the rate of interest could
increase or decrease as per the guidelines of the RBI and the
agreement
Counsel for the bank admit- ted that the rate of interest for new
loanees was always lesser than the rate of interest for old customers
After hearing the arguments of both sides, the forum held that the
bank was dishonest and adopted unfair trade policy, because they had
also got signed Schedule ‘A’, which related to the loan with fixed
rate of interest from the complainants
It appeared the intention of the bank was to apply the fixed rate of
interest if the same was at any time more beneficial or otherwise to
use Schedule ‘B’, which related to terms and conditions of adjustable
interest rate if that is more useful to the Bank
The forum held that the enhancement in the rate of interest was
totally illegal and unwarranted and directed the bank to overhaul the
loan account of complainant by charging interest at the rate of 7.25
per cent up to March 31,2006, 7.75 per cent from April 1,2006 to
October 30, 2006 and thereafter, at the rate of 8.75 per cent per
annum till date till it was enhanced in accordance with the agreement
between the parties
Meanwhile, the forum also held that the rate of interest of an old
customer cannot be higher than the rate of interest at which the loans
are being currently advanced by bank
The Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum also observed that this was in
fact an unfair trade practice, whereby the bank trapped the
prospective loanees by showing much lower rate of interest as compared
to other banks and within a span of 3-4 months, the interest rate was
increased disproportionately
bademiyansubhanallah
LANDMARK JUDGEMENT, The case of the disappointed parents
Sat, Jun 20, 2009
Legal Documents
Every now and then, come along landmark judgments from the highest
courts of the land that determine the course of law and establish
values upheld by the judiciary. S Vijayaraghavan narrates…
This is a poignant tale of parents reposing hope in their son and
feeling let down by the son’s subsequent conduct. The Law presupposes
that there exists natural love and affection on the part of parents
towards their children.
It was in one such situation where Lakshmikutti, a doting mother and
her husband executed two Gift Deeds of the House and Land in favour of
their son, Asokan. The son was naturally pleased. The parents, soon
thereafter, found the conduct of the son disturbing. According to
them, they had gifted the property in the hope that he would
contribute a sum of Rs1,00,000 at the time of his sister’s marriage.
He did not keep his word. Stung by his conduct the parents cancelled
the Gift Deeds by two documents of Revocation.
Asokan, the son went to court outraged by his parents’ action. He
sought a declaration that he was the absolute owner of the property
and for setting aside the two Deeds of Revocation. The Trial Court
held in his favour. The first Appellate court and the High court
reversed the finding of the trial court and held in favour of the
parents on the grounds that Asokan had not proved acceptance of the
Gifts by taking possession nor paid any tax for the same.
Asokan appealed to the Supreme Court of India. Justices S B Sinha and
Harjit Singh Bedi heard the Arguments on behalf of Asokan to the
effect that the handing over of possession which was recorded in the
Deeds of Gift was sufficient proof of acceptance. To the contrary the
counsel for the parents submitted that the recitals in the Deeds of
Gift were not conclusive and evidence to show that the same were not
correct was admissible in evidence.
Their Lordships of the Supreme Court accepted the case of Asokan and
upheld the validity of the Gifts in his favour holding that the
documents were conclusive and delivery of possession would be evidence
of acceptance. Further, the failure to perform some promises by the
son would not render the Gifts invalid.
Their Lordship Held:
“Gifts do not contemplate payment of any consideration or
compensation. It is, however, beyond any doubt or dispute that in
order to constitute a valid gift acceptance thereof is essential. We
must, however, notice that the Transfer of Property Act does not
prescribe any particular mode of acceptance. It is the circumstances
attending to the transaction which may be relevant for determining the
question. There may be various means to prove acceptance of a gift.
The document may be handed over to a donee, which in a given situation
may also amount to a valid acceptance. The fact that possession had
been given to the donee also raises a presumption of acceptance. [See
Sanjukta Ray v. Bimelendu Mohanty AIR1997 Orissa 131, Kamakshi Ammal
v. Rajalakshmi, AIR 1995 Mad 415 andSamrathi Devi v. Parsuram Pandey
AIR 1975 Patna 140] ”
Again “While determining the question as to whether delivery of
possession would constitute acceptance of a gift or not, the
relationship between the parties plays an important role. It is not a
case that the appellant was not aware of the recitals contained in
deeds of gift. The very fact that the defendants contend that the
donee was to perform certain obligations, is itself indicative of the
fact that the parties were aware thereabout. Even a silence may
sometime indicate acceptance. It is not necessary to prove any overt
act in respect thereof as an express acceptance is not necessary for
completing the transaction of gift ”
” Section 91 of the Indian Evidence Act covers both contract as also
grant and other types of disposal of property. A distinction may exist
in relation to a recital and the terms of a contract but such a
question does not arise herein inasmuch as the said deeds of gift were
executed out of love and affection as well as on the ground that the
donee is the son and successor of the donor and so as to enable him to
live a good family life.”
“Could they now turn round and say that he was to fulfill a promise?
The answer thereto must be rendered in the negative. It is one thing
to say that the execution of the deed is based on an aspiration or
belief, but it is another thing to say that the same constituted an
onerous gift ”
“Keeping in view the relationship of the parties and further in view
of the fact that admittedly the appellant had not been residing in
India for a long time, neither the possession of the document nor the
payment of tax nor non-mutation of the name by itself would be
sufficient to show that the execution of the deeds of gift by the
defendants was not voluntary acts on their part. It can never be the
intention of a son to drive away the parents from the house as soon as
the deeds of gift are executed. Parents while gifting the property to
a successor out of love and affection as also with a view to enable
him to live a peaceful life, would not like to lose both the property
as also their son ”
“Once a gift is complete, the same cannot be rescinded. For any reason
whatsoever, the subsequent conduct of a donee cannot be a ground for
rescission of a valid gift ”
This Judgment reveals that the law has to act according to certain
well established principles without being influenced by certain
sentimental overtones which cannot be validly and legally
accommodated!
The writer is a distinguished practicing advocate of the Madras High
Court who wields expertise in civil and corporate areas of law
bademiyansubhanallah
Possession within the law
Sat, Jun 20, 2009
Legal Documents
Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act protects you against unlawful
dispossession.
The law recognizes the sanctity of possession of immovable property
and expects that no one will be dispossessed without his
consent.Broadly speaking,when a person possessing land is deprived of
the same without his consent by an act of force, the law states such
an act is illegal and that the person dispossessed of his land has
every right to recover the same
The provisions to recover the possession of immovable property of a
person who is dispossessed without his consent are contained under
Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act which says that if any person is
dispossessed, without his consent, of immovable property illegally
then he can file a suit to recover the possessionSection 6 provides a
summary remedy of restoring possession on the proof that the plaintiff
had the possession and he has been wrongly dispossessed. He need not
prove his title.The provision aims at discouraging forcible
dispossession. However good title a person may be having with regard
to the property he has no right to forcibly gain the possession of the
same. If there is a disputed right the matter should be settled
through due process of law rather than by use of force. For example,
if the tenant is not vacating the house, a landlord cannot forcibly
evict him. If he does so, the tenant can get protection under Section
6 and recover the possession. In such a case even though the landlord
is the owner he has no right to go against the law. However, he can
file a regular suit and establish his title to the house and get the
possession
Therefore, the said section does not bar any person from bringing a
regular suit founded upon his title in respect of the immovable
property and to recover possession thereof even though a suit
instituted under section 6 of the said act has been decreed against
him
It may be noted that Section 6 covers only that case where the
plaintiff is unlawfully dispossessed of immovable property. If the
plaintiff has himself voluntarily given possession he cannot have
recourse to Section 6
For example, if a tenant hands over possession of premises to the
landlord for the marriage of latter’s son and the landlord fails to
hand over the possession again to the tenant after his son’s marriage,
it would be held that even though the tenant may have been deceived
later on, but since he handed over the possession out of his free
will, he could not claim the possession under Section 6
The key point is that the suit under this section can be filed within
six months from the date of dispossession. To make it clear, no suit
to regain the possession should be brought after the expiry of six
months from the date of dispossession
Moreover, suit for recovering possession under Section 6 can be
brought against a private person and not against the government, that
is,when a person has been dispossessed of the immovable property by
the state he cannot bring an action under the Specific Relief Act
An important point to be noted is that once the order under such suit
is given,no appeal or review shall lie from such order
To conclude, the purpose of this section is based on the principle of
discouraging persons from taking the law into their own hands. The law
and orderly administration of the country requires that the
possession,even by the owner of the property, should be taken by
adopting the process prescribed by law and not by mere self-helps The
writer is a lawyer with legal firm Jurisconsultus
Sid Harth
Peoples watch’ moves NHRC over scribe arrest issue
By Akhand
Last updated: 08/26/2009 22:27:50
Bhubaneswar ( Orissa ) : The Arrest of a Bhubaneswar based scribe
issue took a new turn when a human rights group approach National
Human rights commission alleging serious human right violation.
Peoples watch, an organization working for the protection of civil
rights of the citizen, approached both NHRC and State Human Rights
Commission (SHRC) to intervene in the whole case.
The organisation has also appealed to take stringent action against
the erring police officials. In a petition to NHRC the organisation
alleged that the police officials had misbehaved , beaten and dragged
the Journalist to the police vehicle during the arrest in a in a local
market.
“Forty one years old Biswambar Baliarsingh, editor of a weekly
newspaper was continuously writing about the common man’s problem and
police atrocity. So Orissa police has arbitrary and intentionally
arrested the Journalist, said Manoj Jena, Co-coordinator of peoples
watch, who recently headed a fact finding team and met the arrested
journalist in the Bhubaneswar Jarpada Jail.
In its petition the organisation alleged that Doleswar Nayak, the
Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) of Balipatana Police station, came with
four constables to near by Adalabad Market when the scribe was busy
for marketing. The ASI dragged the journalist into police vehicle
without informing the cause of arrest, abused slang languages and
beaten ruthlessly. Even the police didn’t allow him to inform his
family members about this arrest, it alleged.
Describing his apathy before the fact finding team the arrested
journalist alleged that in police custody neither he was served any
dinner nor allowed to urinate outside.
Based upon a FIR filed by a branch manager of a rural bank the police
had made arrest. However when the Journalist had also filed a FIR
against the manager who allegedly taking bribe for granting loans and
some other irregularities in the bank, no action is being taken by the
police. On the other hand police has arrested Mr. Baliarsing without
any investigation, alleged Manoj.
Meanwhile the Peoples watch warn to intensify its agitation police and
administration fails to punish the erring officials.
bademiyansubhanallah
Shades of Grey
Akrita Reyar
Nani Palkhivala: India’s torch bearer
There was a time, when there were a few good men. Who stood for all
that was ethical, for whom integrity meant something. Who could take
up the gauntlet even against the most commanding seats of power. For
whom India always came first.
Nani Ardeshir Palkhivala was one such man. Consumed completely with
his dogged determination to preserve the secularity, freedom and
democracy of this country, he went to the extremities in his fight.
Knight in Shining Armour
In the historic Keshavnand Bharti case, it was because of Palkhivala’s
tireless arguments over a period of five long months that the Supreme
Court bench ruled that while Parliament could amend the Constitution,
it could not tamper with its basic structure; thus securing the
edifice of nation building for posterity.
However Indira Gandhi, who showed scant regard for the law of the land
during Emergency days, reversed the decision. It was then that Nani
Palkhivala gave us a glimpse of his towering personality.
On being peremptorily asked by Indira Gandhi in 1975 to plead her
appeal before the Supreme Court, against the Allahabad High Court
decision which invalidated her 1971 election to the Lok Sabha,
Palkhivala simply returned her brief expressing his inability to take
up the case. He risked taking on the might of Indira Gandhi, but did
not compromise on his values.
Well aware of the dangers in showing such temerity, he never wavered
for a moment. It was a matter of Country Vs appeasing the the Prime
Minister. His choice was made.
Livid at such open show of defiance, Indira Gandhi did everything
possible to make his life hell. It is to the credit of JRD Tata, who
refused to sack Palkhivala either as a Director on the Tata board or
as the ACC Chairman despite immense pressure from Mrs G. Lesser men
would have succumbed.
Gloomy Gloaming
But in his twilight years, when Zee News interviewed him about the
state of the nation, we found him depressed beyond measure. On being
asked what was wrong with the country, he quipped, “What is wrong with
it...I will like to ask what is right with it? We apply the most
idiotic criteria to choose our leaders - caste, religion, region -
nothing that is worth is looked at to check whether the person is
worthy of public life.”
“I must admit we are not trained to be electorate. The adult franchise
was introduced too early, without us being trained to be good
citizens. It was a terrible mistake. I am absolutely ashamed. I never
thought Indian democracy would be like this,” he bemoaned.
“We are unworthy of being citizens of this country…the man who speaks
the truth is not even listened to here. Unless great men, intelligent
men come into public life, I see no hope for us.”
The ray of hope, though, came to him from the Judiciary. “Judicial
activism is the only good thing,’ he said but not without counter
reasoning, “Ideally this should not happen. Judiciary should not take
the place of the legislature or the executive, but I am glad it
does.”
As a Constitutional lawyer, to him it was the greatest tome, “The
Indian Constitution is the only imaginative piece of work,” he
declared.
“But people don’t even know what is in our Constitution. In the Unites
States, though, they have a much smaller book, they are taught the
Constitution in schools. Portions of it are published in public places
like railway stations. Forget knowing its contents, people in India
have not even heard of it! It is a different matter that so many
people don’t know how to read or write in the first place.”
About the great dangers looming over the country, this great advocate
of equality felt “casteism is our greatest curse”. He minced no words
in holding VP Singh responsible for dividing the country on caste
lines.
But if there was that one person who was permanently consigned to his
bad books, it was undoubtedly Indira Gandhi. “She did more damage to
the country than anyone else. I am amazed at the liberties she took.
Had she had her way, she would have destroyed the liberty that we
have, but for the fight of some of us,” he said without the slightest
ego.
A Lost Cause
Nani Palkhivala felt the nation had reached a cul-de-sac and was
struggling to find a way.
On what could be the possible solution out, he suggested the
unthinkable, the unspeakable- a limited form of dictatorship. For a
man who fought tooth and nail for freedom and fundamental rights,
Palkhivala decried that, “Indians mistake freedom for license. They
think they have a license to do what they like just because they are
citizens of a free country.”
He then turned to Singapore for example. Perhaps our people do, after
all, need some shepherding, he grudgingly admitted. “We are waiting
for a person like Lee Kuan Yew.”
Well aware of the import of what he was alluding to, he hurried to
add, “I speak with a full sense of responsibility. We have reached
that stage of degradation where we need more discipline and less of
freedom. How can we just get up and declare a bandh. In Europe such
freedom in not known. Only in India people feel they have a right to
do what they like.”
On nationhood, something so close to his heart, he demystified the
reason for our regional fixations. “We have been a loose knit of
regions, never once had we been one nation. We have no notion of what
it is to be an Indian; we are not even aware what our identity is. We
haven’t told the people that we are one country.”
“I don’t know what sins I have done to be born in this country, to see
all this. People of this country are basically good left to
themselves. They are large hearted people. We have a culture that can
make a man a fine human being…”
For India per se there would always be sweet words, “No other country
has such a variety of languages, with different roots. Europe has 5-6
languages, but they have common roots in Greek or Latin. Our diversity
is a great contribution to civilization.”
“Have you heard of such a great country? Where there have been great
sages like Yajnavalika. Have you heard of any country where kings have
left their kingdoms in search of truth?
“We are a tremendously great country. But I don’t recognize this to be
the same country,” he repined as a man vanquished.
After this his voice evanesced into a quiver. Tears welled in his
eyes. And then, he just broke down.
When he continued, he related with a choking throat, the indispensable
role of his parents. “I have been lucky in my parents. My father
taught me the right thing to do, gave me the right values.”
“It is so important to give children the right bringing up and a good
education. Because this decides what the child would turn out to be
when he grows up.” At that point the crew left him soaked in his
thoughts.
Our Inspiration
My Editor, who had conducted the interview, asked me to make something
“marvelous” out of it. After all, the ingredients were all in place. I
scanned through the interview to see how we needed to present it.
Nani Palkhivala was my hero. One of my idols in my growing up years;
and will remain so till the end of my days. This man was now crumbling
before my eyes.
When our icons crash, when they seem so vulnerable, so human - like
any amongst us, no words can express the pathos of the moment- of
utter despondency and of unfathomable darkness.
His gargantuan personality seemed crippled by hopelessness. The man,
whose courage had humbled despotism, was now broken in spirit.
Everything he stood for seemed consigned to flames, turned to ashes.
He looked like an emperor who had just lost a battle, seen the work of
his lifetime defeated, and ground to earth.
Somberly, I began to stitch together pieces of the programme together.
Palkhivala’s staff was both polite and extremely helpful in putting
together the documentary. They threw open their archives for my
access. I received old pictures of happier times, of daunting days, of
momentous moments, of, of….
I also heard some of the recordings of his most spectacular speeches.
I watched stadiums jam packed by corporate honchos, bureaucrats,
socialites and thousands and thousands of common men (some delicately
balancing on tree branches or craning over from terraces because of
lack of space) to hear him unravel the mathematics of the Union
Budget, as part of an annual ritual. The magic was the ease with which
he could convert extremely convoluted jargon into elementary lingo,
giving alongside his own incisive insights. So each year after the
Budget presentation in Parliament, the Finance Minister would await
the verdict from Mumbai with great trepidation.
After the documentary unfolded, we received a handwritten note from Mr
Palkhivala expressing his heartfelt thanks for our effort. Such was
his graciousness.
My Editor was overjoyed by the response the programme received
overall. The interview got wide coverage in media and became a big TRP
grosser. Compliments came thick and fast about the stirring story that
we had woven.
Despite so much commendation, my spirits would not lift. That night I
learnt a very valuable lesson– that some successes in life are just
not worth it.
A devoted teacher, a convincing author, an ace economist, a corporate
chairman, but above all a brilliant lawyer and one of the greatest
champions of constitutional rights, Palkhivala was all this and much
more rolled into one. Yet the man remained humble and courteous to
all, including the lowest strata. He was a rare breed who, though an
ocean of sapience, carried their erudition lightly. His philanthropy
was legendary, yet wrapped in thick of layers of secrecy.
This great man had raised the torch for us when our country was
fighting the shadows. Today when India is taking huge strides in
economic development, attaining literacy and its people are
increasingly putting development on the agenda for voting, would his
agony have eased a little?
On the converse, when we sometimes get lost in narrow alleys of caste,
creed and religion, I wonder does it not then become binding on all of
us to pull back and stay on course to become a good citizenry.
If not just for ourselves, then for the sake of some such good men…
(January 16 is the 89th birth anniversary of Nani Palkhivala)
I greatly admire Nani Palkhivala and wish we had more like him and
have the sense to give the man his due place and respect. As a student
I would skim through the paper but make it a point to read every word
if it was written by him or anything quoted by him. In Calcutta, I
managed to see him live at Eden Gardens when he gave his take on the
budget which used to be a house full annual event for years. I have
read about many great people in our history including our freedom
struggle but to watch a living great and follow his superhuman feats
especially when you read about his humble beginings is very inspiring.
Hope we are able to do 1 of what he did in his life to build our
nation. -Rohit - Jersey City, NJ, US
A true Indian. India forever will be grateful to the audacity of this
very man. Great that this space remebers him. -Jim - Noida
Articles of this nature is the need of the hour to remind the
generation now and in the future of the contributions to public life
and morality by great human beings like Mr.palkhivala. I was regularly
read his books and articles which was a source of inspiration. I am
sure well meaning people would lhave an appetite to know more on the
great son of India for their own good and for the good of the country.
Thanks. Kesavan -Kesavan - Navimumbai
Shri Nani Palkhiwala is one of the brightest son of Mother India. His
open post budget speech has no parallel. Even a lay man can understand
the details of budget. As an youngster and have no much knowledge of
English during 80s, I accidently bumbed into the budget gathering. The
speech was so absorbing that even I still remember his speech and how
the gas to be utilised during the exploration of oil instead of
burning it. A GREAT HUMAN BEING WE ARE PROUD OF. This kind of humans
are born once in a millennium. -sashidharan - UAE
I am greatly touched by your article on one of the real heroes of our
country, I am at loss of words....thoughts go back more than 30 years
when I was a college student at K C College...Nani was a tower, strong
but humble. Its for Men like him that make me feel proud to be an
Indian. -Suresh Shetty - Bangalore
Why do great personalities cry? Because they feel the pain of a common
man, Mr. Palkiwala was indeed one of the great personalities who felt
for India in totality. It is unfortunate that great personalities like
Mr.Palkhivala are often opposed by the corrupt politicians. It is not
that this country doesn`t have people thinking and feeling for the
nation, but the sad part is they are very less in numbers. Good
article Akrita, people like you write and make people like us read
about great ideologies and personalities. Indeed a good piece. -
Pradeep - Noida
I had the fortune of meeting Shri Palkhivala in one of the meetings
orgainzed by Forum for Free Enterprise. Listening to him talk about
India passionately was an eye-opener for me as a teenager. I sincerely
hope that as our dear `Nani` said, intellectuals do enter public life
and cleanse the rot in our system. -Raghavendra - Dubai
Thank you Akrita for this wonderful peice on the legendary Nani. Today
is his 89th birth anniversary and i was searching the net to see if
people remember Nani and his great contributions. I am so happy to see
your blog and the 3 comments that poured in. I had the privilge to
correspond with him during my college days and also having met him
personally. I was just a comman man, but to him, every one was
important. I used to get his personal letters within one week of my
writing ( there were no emails those days ) and when i wanted to meet
him ( i was just a college student ) i called on his landline ( got
the number from directory ) and he picked the phone and gave me an
appointment the netx day. Yes, we all remeber his great contributions
to Indian democracy and Indian constitution. If India continues to be
democratic ( please note that all our neighbors are struggling on this
aspect), it is becasue of the great cases that Nani so tireleesly
fought. Emergency and its fallout with Indira Gandhi are legendary and
as you shared, only Nani could have done that. In these sad times, and
when Democracy of India is many times only on paper and in reality we
live a jungle raj, we have to invoke the spirit of people like Nani
and Rajaji and carry on their mantle and where ever we can and in what
ever we can, we should bring about change. We the People of India
fondly remember him on this day and for all our lives. If India has
become a liberalized economy, Nani's contributions are not to be
forgotton. For 18 long years he advocated under the banner of Forum
for Free Enterprise and gave such insighful speeches on why India
should move away from licence raj and become a globalised country.
Thank you Nani for being you and thank you for giving us liberty,
freedom of speech and for protecting us from politicians and ensuring
the basic structure of Constitution does not get amended. -AVK Mohan -
New Delhi
Needless to say that we need men like Nani more than anything else.
Its sad that in the twilight of one`s life, you see the edifice that
you spent your life to erect, crumble. Tears in Nani`s eyes must have
been a rare and sad thing for anyone to see. Honest tribute in words
to Him. -shashank - delhi
Nani Palkivala was extremely inspiring orator and a patriot. In this
time and age when nobody wants to know what ``Patriotism`` is or
represents. They want to know how to make money quickly. There is no
place for morals and no one has the time. We spend most of our time
watching TV soaps and lining up on weekends to eat at the best
restaurants. We like to live in dirt & flith outside of our houses and
have no regard for fellow human beings. Our large Population,
Pollution, Poverty and Policitians will continue to take India to
lower depths. Regretably, people don't comment on such articles cause
they don't have ``Masala`` in it. Long gone are the days when people
like ``NANI`` lived. I still remember the huge gathering at CCI after
the Budget where we would gather to listen to this wonderful
personality. I hope you continue to write about people similar to
``Nani``. There is no harm in trying to awaken the Indians in India. -
Anil Advaney - Australia
It is snowing today in Edison while I finished reading your article.
Suddenly, I am very emotional, almost in tears. It was 1975, yes and
ironically I was working in a government Office in a sensitive
department. I used to receive information about confscated political
material-against Mrs.G`s government, people whose passports were
cancelled, who were arrested. I was in contact with underground
actvists and helping publication, translation, distribution. I met few
activists of RSS and Janasangha who had sneaked from UP/MP. We had a
great reverence for NP. I was barely 18 and full of fire..Not by Bread
Alone.. It was an agonizing experience for people..The current
generation or post 1975 born do not know about those days-may be would
not care any more. It is true many of those heroes now want return and
price for their sacrifices. Thank you for this article. found warmth
and comfort in my heart. I fully acknowledge the great contribution
made by him to our nation and history will always place him way beyond
political tradesmen and heartless leaders. -ASHISH DAVE - EDISON USA
bademiyansubhanallah
Apex court call hits home: 3 HCs decide to make assets public
Tannu Sharma
Posted: Saturday , Aug 29, 2009 at 0404 hrs
New Delhi:
Judges of three High Courts — Delhi, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh —
decided on Friday to take the lead provided by the Supreme Court and
make public details of their assets.
The decision came on a day the Chief Justice of India, K G
Balakrishnan, underlined that the Supreme Court does not have any
“supervisory jurisdiction” over High Courts in administrative matters,
and that “changed circumstances” had led him to alter his view on
making public the declaration of assets by judges.
Supreme Court judges unanimously made a historic decision on Wednesday
to post the details of their assets on the website of the court.
A communique from the office of the registrar-general of Delhi High
Court, Rakesh Kapoor, announced on Friday that “all the judges are
agreeable to make their assets public”, though the modalities are
still to be worked out.
A resolution on the decision was passed unanimously after a meeting of
the Full Court chaired by Chief Justice A P Shah. The Delhi High
Court’s decision is significant because it is here that the apex court
is contesting a judgment by the Central Information Commission (CIC)
directing SC judges to make their assets public.
The registrar-general of Kerala High Court, D Sreevallabhan, said that
at a meeting of the Full Court on Friday, all judges had agreed to put
up details of their assets on the court website within a month.
“The strength of the Kerala High Court is 38 and now there are 33
judges, including the Chief Justice. All 33 judges have decided to
declare their assets and these will be put up on the website of
court,” Sreevallabhan said.
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has taken a similar decision, and an
official announcement is expected soon. A senior official in the Chief
Justice’s office stressed there is “consensus among the entire
judicial strength” in favour of making assets details public.
“We are not averse to what the SC has done and other HCs may do. In
fact judges are agreeable to the idea of putting the details in the
public domain,” the official said.
The decision to make assets public follows from a 1997 resolution of
the Supreme Court — followed by most high courts — requiring judges to
submit these details to the Chief Justice. Till now, however, the
details were not made available to the public.
“It is stated in the (May 7, 1997) resolution that information
furnished by judges is to be kept strictly confidential,” the CJI said
today. “As far as the SC is concerned, we are strictly following it
(the resolution)... The only thing is that we were not disclosing it
to the public. Now, because of the changed circumstances, we will put
it on the website.”
Balakrishnan said it may take “a month’s time” to put up details for
all judges on the website. No decision had been taken yet on the
“format” in which assets would be declared, or on whether questions
would be entertained on them, he said.
The CJI said that the SC decision to make assets public would not
affect its appeal against the CIC currently before the Delhi High
Court.
“The CIC had ruled that whatever information is with the Chief Justice
has to be with the registrar,” he said. “This aspect (of the CIC
ruling) we have challenged, as it was not correct.”
“Registry many times does not know the ABC of several things which
come to me. But CIC gave a finding to that effect and I had to
challenge it.”
Balakrishnan said the CJI’s office is privy to privileged
communication between various constitutional authorities, complaints
against judges etc. “How can all this information be disclosed (under
the RTI Act)?”
“Several times, absolutely scandalous allegations are made against a
judge and the complaint comes to me. This can’t be parted with to the
Registry. Even American SC is totally exempted under the American RTI
law.”
bademiyansubhanallah
Abhaya: SC judge withdraws from case
Express news service
Posted: Saturday , Aug 29, 2009 at 0329 hrs
New Delhi/ Thiruvananthapuram:
A Supreme Court judge, who was part of the Bench hearing the CBI’s
plea in Sister Abhaya murder case, on Friday withdrew himself from the
matter. The CBI has sought cancellation of bail granted to the three
accused in the case.
A Bench of Justice D K Jain and H L Dattu referred the matter to Chief
Justice K G Balakrishnan for allocating it before another Bench, as
Justice Dattu said he was recusing himself from hearing the matter.
Reasons were not known as to why he recused himself.
The CBI has filed an appeal against the grant of bail by the Kerala
High Court to the accused, Father Thomas Kottoor, Father Jose
Puthrikayil and Sister Sephy, in the case.
Earlier in the day, the Kozhikode Bar Association passed a resolution
against Supreme Court judge Justice Cyriac Joseph and sought a probe
by the Supreme Court into the conduct of the judge. The resolution
said his viewing of the narco-analysis reports of the three accused
had raised several doubts in the minds of the people. Besides, Justice
Cyriac, while addressing an assembly of the Catholic Church recently,
had said his loyalty towards the Church was not something that had to
be concealed because of the high office held by him. The resolution
said the conduct of the judge had put the judiciary under the shadow
of suspicion.
Earlier this month, the CBI had informed the Kerala HC that Justice
Cyriac, while he was Chief Justice of Karnataka HC, had viewed the
video tapes of the narco-analysis conducted on the three accused.
The apex court on August 13 had stayed the narco-analysis test of
three key witnesses — Sister Sherly, Thresiamma and Achamma — who had
challenged the Kerala High Court order, which had refused their plea
against the trial court order of narco test.
bademiyansubhanallah
5 HC chief justices cleared for SC
Express news service
Posted: Friday , Aug 28, 2009 at 0107 hrs
New Delhi:
The Supreme Court collegium has finally cleared names of five chief
justices (CJ) of High Courts for elevation to the apex court. As
against a sanctioned strength of 31, the Supreme Court has just 23
Judges now.
According to sources, the names were finalised at a meeting held last
week. The five CJs, whose names have been recommended for elevation
are Punjab and Haryana High Court CJ Tirath Singh Thakur, Madhya
Pradesh High Court CJ Ananga Kumar Patnaik, Calcutta High Court CJ S S
Nijjer, Gujarat High Court CJ K S Radhakrishnan and Karnataka HC CJ P
D Dhinakaran.
bademiyansubhanallah
The judge who said ‘objection’
Johnson TA
Posted: Friday , Aug 28, 2009 at 1028 hrs
Bangalore:
On Thursday, when Justice D V Shylendra Kumar of the Karnataka High
Court sat on a division bench he heads to hear tax matters, there was
not the slightest hint to suggest this was the judge who had
contributed significantly to a milestone in the Indian judiciary —
public declaration of assets by judges.
Justice Shylendra Kumar, who will turn 58 on Teachers’ Day this year,
opened the ground for a public debate on asset declarations by judges
in the course of an article, published in The Indian Express last
week, where he argued that contrary to the Chief Justice of India’s
views not all judges of the superior courts are opposed to public
disclosures of assets.
The article which began with the blurbs, “Who are the judges afraid
of; what are the judges afraid of” paved the way to a decision by the
judges of the Supreme Court on Wednesday to disclose their assets on
the website of the court.
Setting an example himself, soon after the publication of his article,
Justice Shylendra Kumar declared his assets on a secure personal
website on Wednesday after the Karnataka High Court asked for a
consensus among its judges to declare their assets.
The son of a former member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from
Hosur constituency, just outside Bangalore, Justice Shylendra Kumar
was elevated to the judiciary after being a successful member of the
bar.
Enrolled as an advocate in 1976, he originally practiced in the Madras
High Court before shifting to the Karnataka High Court.
Reporters who interacted with him when he was a central government
standing counsel in the Karnataka High Court in the late 1990s recall
him to be a cordial, matter-of-fact lawyer who never courted the media
for publicity.
He was appointed an additional judge of the Karnataka High Court in
December 2000 and became permanent in April 2002.
Always known to be of a strict demeanor, Kumar has come to be known in
the bar as a judge with integrity, outspoken but open-hearted.
One of the most talked-about judgments that Justice Shylendra Kumar
has pronounced in recent times has been in connection with mining in
forests around Karnataka.
The judge personally visited the sites before directing the Government
of Karnataka to stop all mining in forests as stated in law. A
division bench of the High Court later overturned the single judge
order.
“He is an upright man, a man of integrity,” says Advocate General of
Karnataka Ashok Harnahalli of the judge. Harnahalli and Kumar were
former colleagues in the bar and as central government standing
counsels.
“What we hear from advocates who have appeared before him is that he
always speaks his mind but is also open-hearted about listening to
them,” says the secretary of the Karnataka State Bar Council K
Satyamoorthi Holla.
A veteran court officer who wished to be anonymous said Justice
Shylendra Kumar prides himself on being “incorruptible” and is a
stickler for similar values from those who work for him. “He is among
few people who do not own a housing site in a controversy-ridden
judicial layout scheme,” he said.
bademiyansubhanallah
SC assets resolution for High Courts
Maneesh Chhibber
Posted: Friday , Aug 28, 2009 at 1025 hrs
New Delhi:
A day after judges of the Supreme Court passed a resolution deciding
to declare their assets and make them public, it was learnt that
copies of the resolution would be sent to Chief Justices of all High
Courts.
Sources told The Indian Express that Chief Justice of India K G
Balakrishnan could personally write to all Chief Justices, urging them
to place the matter before their respective full courts so that
similar resolutions are passed.
“Under the present system, the CJI has no administrative control of
the HCs and the resolution of the judges of the SC is not binding on
the judges of the HCs. The CJI can only suggest to them to follow
suit,” sources said.
As for the case filed by the SC Registry in the Delhi HC, challenging
an order of the Central Information Commission on the issue of assets
of judges, sources said a final decision was still to be taken. “We
need to understand that the larger issue before Delhi HC is whether
details of assets of judges of the SC and HCs are within the purview
of the RTI Act or not. The resolution passed yesterday doesn’t say
anything on this issue. It is for the CJI to decide the future course
of action,” the sources pointed out. On May 4, the HC had reserved its
order on the apex court’s plea.
Meanwhile, sources in the Law Ministry on Thursday asserted that
despite the resolution of SC judges, the government was committed to
push the proposed law to make it mandatory for judges and their kin to
declare their assets. “A meeting will be held next week to decide
whether the law should be a stand-alone legislation like the Judges
(Assets and Liabilities) Bill, 2009 or if there should be clause to
this effect as was contained in the now-defunct Judges (Inquiry) Bill,
2008. Since the resolution has no legal standing like an earlier one
passed in 1997, the Government is keen to bring in the legislation,”
said a senior Ministry officer.
Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily has welcomed the decision of SC
judges saying, “It is for the judges to decide how it should be done
because they know best what is best for the judiciary.”
Comments (2) |
Top down approach can work
By: Human Face | 28-Aug-2009
We all know the corruption cancer in India and how it works. There is
no shame now a days and people take pride saying I make lot of money
in my job. Higher you go, bigger the corruption scandal, however this
is little step and step to right direction. Want to see heart to it.
This is pretty good idea to start some cleaning up commitment from
top. I know this little step wouldn’t stop corruption but none the
less a step to a right direction. Judges are the most vulnerable to
corruption after civil administrator and have a tendency to fill their
pocket in last 5 years for better retirement (if are not corrupted
before). Perhaps the things will turn out be better and other civil
servants areas may wake up with a slogan “better country, better for
all”
commendable initiative
By: AMIT SINGHAL | 28-Aug-2009
A commendable initiative by Honorable Supreme Court.At least one
pillar out of 4 pillars of democracy can still be relied on.
bademiyansubhanallah
‘Decision on declaring assets after receiving SC ‘modalities’’
Agencies
Posted: Thursday , Aug 27, 2009 at 2019 hrs
Chennai:
Chief Justice of the Madras High court H N Gokhale today said that a
decision on the declaration of assets of judges of the court would be
taken after receiving the ‘modalities’ from the Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court has said it would provide the modalities. On
receipt of this, the High Court will decide,” Gokhale conveyed through
his office to mediapersons, when they sought his views on the matter.
The judges of the Supreme Court yesterday decided to make public their
assets, an issue that had been haunting the higher judiciary for quite
some time.
bademiyansubhanallah
Asset declaration: Parties, experts welcome SC judges' decision
Agencies
Posted: Thursday , Aug 27, 2009 at 1142 hrs
New Delhi:
Political parties and legal experts on Thursday welcomed the decision
by Supreme Court judges to make public their assets, describing it as
a "step in the right direction" that could have come "earlier" to
avoid needless controversy.
After months of intense debate over making public the details of
assets of higher judiciary, a decision "in principle" was taken on the
issue at a meeting convened by Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan
on Wednesday.
"It is (a) welcome (move). It is for the judges to decide how it
should be done because what is in the best interests of judges, they
are the best judges (of that)," Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily
said.
He said it was "not that the judges were unwilling" to disclose assets
but "there are certain things for judges...they are not elected
people... as a government we do not want them to be embarrassed or
inconvenienced. If they have come forward themselves to disclose it,
it is welcome."
Spokespersons of BJP and Congress, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Abhishek
Singhvi, respectively, also hailed the move.
Singhvi, who maintained that he was airing his "personal opinion",
said "it is a very good and welcome step".
The judiciary has avoided "further needless controversy", but it could
have been avoided if the decision was taken earlier, he said.
"It is a question of public perception and public confidence, trust,
faith and in that light it is a step in the right direction," Singhvi
said.
Prasad said the "welcome" gesture shown by the judiciary should be
appreciated. "I am afraid that this decision could have been taken
earlier and the unfortunate controversy over the last couple of months
could have been avoided."
He also said he has a "humble request" to make to "my lords" --
"please don't speak in public, don't write articles, including the
retired judges. That restraint is equally important."
Former Attorney General and constitutional expert Soli Sorabjee said
"it is a very good decision taken by judges".
"I think it is a very good development. It's better late than never,"
Sorabjee said adding the judges have heeded to the views of former
Chief Justices and senior advocates who were also very keen to
maintain the image of the judiciary.
"I am sure their initial reluctance not to declare assets was not
because they had anything to hide. They had misgivings that it may be
misused," he said.
"The whole controversy had become very unsavoury with this kind of
suggestions that judges have something to hide -- they want to be
above the law. I am so happy that the Supreme Court has risen to the
occasion," senior lawyer Harish Salve said.
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, who had launched a campaign on the
issue, said it would also now encourage the judges of the High Courts
to make public their assets.
"It is absolutely a welcome move and I am sure it will also encourage
the judges of the High Courts to publicly declare their assets and
force the government to put up assets of government servants on public
website which can be accessed by the people," Bhushan said.
Senior advocate K K Venugopal termed the decision as "excellent".
"I think it is the greatest step that the judiciary could take because
it has cleared all the clouds which have been hanging over the issue,"
he said.
Sorabjee said the decision will raise the stature of the judiciary in
public eye.
"It raises the stature and image of the judiciary and what is more it
reinforces the confidence of the litigants in the supreme judiciary,"
Sorabjee said.
Comments (1) |
Asset declaration: Parties, experts welcome SC judges' decision
By: vs.iyer | 28-Aug-2009
The move is welcome, provided declaration is genuine. Otherwise, this
exercise is futile. Only the working classes are sincere in paying IT.
The great politicians of India should also declare their genuine
assets and an honest team of people should scrutinise their
declaration. Declaration of accounts in Swiss Bank should also be made
compulsory and the monies brought from Swiss Bank should be used for
providing basic amenities like water, electricity etc.
bademiyansubhanallah
Their lordships agree: Assets public
Tannu Sharma
Posted: Thursday , Aug 27, 2009 at 1157 hrs
New Delhi:
Under pressure from within and outside the judiciary to declare their
assets and wealth, judges of the Supreme Court on Wednesday took a
historic step by agreeing to make these details public via
declarations on the court's website.
This comes two days after Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan said
that in the absence of a law to make public the disclosure of assets,
a consensus had to be developed among judges in this regard.
A senior judge who was present at the meeting today said: “The
decision was taken after an unanimous view emerged among members of
the bench to make the details public.” Another judge said it was
decided by consensus that details of assets held by every judge of the
Supreme Court would be revealed on its website.
Welcoming the decision, former CJI Justice J S Verma “congratulated”
all the judges. “I am extremely happy that by taking this step, it
will mean an end to the unsavoury debate engulfing the judiciary,” he
told The Indian Express.
Earlier this month, the government was forced to defer introduction of
a Bill in the Rajya Sabha that exempts judges from making public
disclosures of income and assets. Most MPs, including some from the
treasury benches, had objections to critical provisions of The Judges
(Declaration of Assets and Liabilities) Bill.
The Bill seeks to make it mandatory for judges to declare their assets
and liabilities to a ‘competent authority’ but says that such
declaration would neither be made public, nor be questioned by any
citizen, a provision the higher judiciary was seen as rooting for.
This provision, contained in Clause 6 of the Bill, drew sharp
criticism from the BJP and Left parties.
Last week, Karnataka High Court Justice D V Shylendra Kumar, writing
in The Indian Express, recorded the first open dissent by a sitting
judge against the CJI’s stand on declaration of assets, when he said
“it’s a misnomer to think that the judges of the superior courts are
not ready to disclose their assets.” This prompted two more HC judges
to step forward with details of their assets.
CJI Balakrishnan had taken the stand that Supreme Court judges had
been following the resolution passed in 1997 by Justice Verma, the
then CJI, and were declaring their assets involving real estates and
other investments to the CJI. All SC judges, he said, had provided
details of their assets, even the additional assets after assuming
office.
Satyameva jayate
By: Ashutosh bhatt | Friday , 28 Aug '09 12:25:14 PM
Really, this news is verry happy for people,and transfarable judge's
property- it's not other but we are alway's says this"SATYAMEVA
VIJAYTE" butnow we said with proud.
The First Step?
By: Kishore Karnad | Friday , 28 Aug '09 3:43:11 AM
On the face of it, this delayed, relucttant, submission to popular
demand of declaring assets sounds honest. I hope assets will mean
'family assets'-jjust to plug a possible loophole. As pointed out by
some, if such assets appear disproportionate, who will question? who
will inestigate the source/s of earning? Who will decide the
punishment, if at all? Will such a 'judge' under investigation
continue to hold his/her office during pendency of inquiry? Mere
declaration of assets will hardly serve the purpose as shown by
slumdogs turned crorepati politicians like mayawati etc. Unless these
questions are satisfactorly answered, people will continue to believe
that in India 'justice' can be baught, bent, or blinded by the rich
like the Nandas, Ansals, SalmanKhans, Fardinkhans, and sanjay Dutts.
This unfortunate perception should be removed. Before it is too late
JUDGES TO DECLARE ASSETS--FINALLY
By: Rajesh Vyas | Thursday , 27 Aug '09 16:07:27 PM
By dillydallying over the issue of declaration of assets the judges
right from the chief justice of the Supreme court, the judges have
come out in very poor light in the public eyes. The judges who enjoyed
our greatest respect for their integrity and honesty have done
themselves enormous harm and have forced us to become cynical about
their integrity. The institution of judiciary has in a way compromised
itself by being adamant on the issue od asset declaration.
Judges' Assets
By: niki | Thursday , 27 Aug '09 14:04:09 PM
Why we are making it look like such a laudatory action on the part of
judiciary - right from begining, stand taken by CJ was wrong -
morally, ethically , judically. It even lacked common sense and then
he goes on national tv berating the high court judge who declared his
assets calling him publicity crazy - it is not expected from CJ to
make these kinds of remarks about their own fraternity who are on the
right track. Govt was with them and tried to introduce a law in last
session of parliament exempting them from public domain ? Now in 4
days time things have changed and we are singing hosannas ! We should
not pat people for doing their job for which they get paid and should
demand proper conduct according to the post / position they hold - let
it be CJ, Attorney General or law Minister and any laxicity should not
be tolerated.
Judiciary Standing Stripped
By: M.V.Muthu | Thursday , 27 Aug '09 13:12:07 PM
Ninty nine percent may not agree, this is not a welcome development.
Submission of Asset-Liability position by Judges to CJ and the latter
to the President, in so far as SC and and Judges of HC to HC CJ and
the latter to CJ of SC, yes. But making it public will be misused by
powerful political culprits who will go ga ga to bring down the
standing and supremacy of Judiciary. Mark my words, there is bound to
be unending whipping back lash.
Wait
By: Hasan Abidi | Thursday , 27 Aug '09 12:22:39 PM
Time will only tell that how many Judges provide their assets details.
Judiciary is the most corrupt in India and our honourable judges want
to enjoy the life without any efforts or pain. Millions of cases are
pending in all the Indian courts for their redressal and judges never
look into them rather they pretend to be occupied with lot of works.
The judges of Indian courts are also public servants and bound to obey
their masters i.e. Indian public and introduce such a system that
should fasten the judicial processes so that affected people could get
justice well in time and that also in their lifetime only.
What next?
By: Avinash Baranwal | Thursday , 27 Aug '09 12:13:36 PM
Next question should be, who will judge if some judge have amassed
more than his total earning capacity?And evenif someone has amassed
disproportionate wealth, what is the mechanism to go after that
effectively which can be seen by us?Otherwise, this year we saw some
southindian politicians growing up their assets by 300%-900% and still
no action/probe was taken. So the question remains how disclosing will
curb the menace with current sets of examples.
Their lordships agree: Assets public
By: saikiran | Thursday , 27 Aug '09 11:15:37 AM
this is really great that then declaring their assets and wealth, not
only prove their innocence but also brings out the corrupted judicial
officers i think dis is a great step made by the government both from
within and outside the judiciary
God bless Judges
By: Vijay Ahuja | Thursday , 27 Aug '09 10:31:38 AM
Thank God, a right decision has been taken. This country is plagued by
the devil of corruption and corrupt leadership. People in public
offices should come forward to enhance the transparency and win back
the lost confidence of general public. Time has come that power
centers should become accountable. Public Servants should actually
provide service to the public. This is the right step in that
direction. I congratulate judges on behalf of the whole of Indian
population for the same.
Correct decision !
By: pdilip | Thursday , 27 Aug '09 10:22:16 AM
Correct decision. The judges have atlast respected the popular public
expectations. This would result in making the judiciary both at the
top and at the lower levels more responsible and free from
curruption.
Judges to Declare assets
By: C.Sasidharan | Thursday , 27 Aug '09 10:11:52 AM
Step in right direction of transparency. But why only judges let every
single person do it. C.Sasidharan, New Delhi
Declaration of assets by the Supreme Court judges.
By: SANTOKH SINGH SAHI | Thursday , 27 Aug '09 9:44:07 AM
I was surprised that unnecessary and untenable reasons were advanced
to conceal the assets. There is no law that prohibits declaration of
assets. A law brings with it penulties and cumbersome procedure.We
have already seen double standards in dealing with the identical
cases.Proven rooren eggs still continue in service. CJI'S comments
with regard to HC JUDGE actually are applicable to him.He has been
issuing statements in and outside India, not necessarliy connected
with his sphere of work.Moving all round at the expense of tax payers
money.No wonder he has failed to discharge his own duties. Otherwise
large number of vacancies would not have continued. No wonder
institution is more than the disposal.Excuses for non-performance are
not needed.Will he devote his energies in disposal of cases and
request the government to enact law creating NATIONAL AND STATE
JUDICIAL COUNCILS, AS PER USA PATERN.BACK LOG WILL CONTINUE TO GROW
WITH THE CURRENT SYSTEM. ACCOUNTABILITY BE ENFORCED.
?Lordships
By: Ramnanan | Thursday , 27 Aug '09 9:42:22 AM
Why are we still using "Lordships" for the Judiciary.This is an old
British model.It is time to change the format for addressing hem?
judges and assets declaration
By: ashokachhatri | Thursday , 27 Aug '09 9:13:38 AM
the hon. balakrishnan c.j.i. and the s.c. have created a doubt in the
minds of public that there is something rotten in the state of
denmark.to use a simile/allegory. hon. c.j.i. kept quiet and did not
clear the air surrounding his initial appointment as h.c. judge ,the
s.c. threw out the matter on gronds (subterfuge?) of delay.does delay
atone for irregularity and patent illegality if such illegality is
indeed committed and wrongful gains have accrued. in this case the
c.j.i.office was in question and doubts ought to have been clearedat
the threshold. what is the use of continuing with various corruption
cases involvimg h.c. and s.c. judges.(p
bademiyansubhanallah
Probe sought against apex court judge
Web posted at: 8/29/2009 1:38:57
Source ::: THE PENINSULA/ By John Mary
Thiruvananthapuram: The Kozhikode Bar Association has passed a
resolution demanding a probe into Supreme Court judge Cyriac Joseph’s
visit to the Forensic Sciences Lab in Bangalore, where he examined the
narco-analysis tapes of the accused in Sister Abhaya murder case.
The unprecedented resolution, backed by all but six of the 186
advocates present at the extraordinary general body meeting of the Bar
Association in Kozhikode yesterday, urged the Supreme Court and other
appropriate authorities to conduct an inquiry and take appropriate
action in accordance with the law.
Till the inquiry was over, Justice Cyriac Joseph should keep off the
Supreme Court without salary and allowances, it said.
The resolution also cited media reports regarding a speech the judge
made at a meeting of the clergy recently where he said, “To him his
religion and religious head are more important than his position as a
judge.
“Justice Cyriac Joseph, who belongs to the same religious order as
that of Sister Abhaya and the accused (Fr Thomas M Kottoor, Fr Jose
Puthrukayil and Sister Sephy) and who hailed from the place of
incidence of the case ought not to have given room for such a
report.”
“By stating that his religion and religious head are of paramount
consideration than the position held by him, he has acted in contempt
of the Constitution and violation of the oath taken while assuming
office. It’s unfortunate and condemnable”, said the resolution, urging
the authorities to evolve a code of conduct for judges of the higher
judiciary.
It was on August 10 that the CBI team probing the Abhaya murder case
submitted before Kerala High Court that Justice Cyriac Joseph had
visited the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Bangalore and viewed
videotapes of narco-analysis tests conducted on the three accused.
The CBI brought this up while the court was considering a contempt
petition filed by Abhaya’s father Thomas Aikkarakunnel, contending
that the probe agency had failed to comply with a directive to
retrieve original tapes of the tests.
The CBI submitted before the Division Bench that Dr S Malini, former
assistant director, FSL, disclosed details of the judge’s visit during
questioning on June 29 and 30.
bademiyansubhanallah
Orissa High Court orders CBI probe into multi-crore derivative scam
28 Aug 2009, 2104 hrs IST,
Nageshwar Patnaik, ET Bureau
In a significant development, the Orissa high court on Thursday
ordered a CBI probe into the alleged Rs 25-lakh crore derivative scam
in the country.
The case involves Indian business houses which suffered huge losses on
account of exchange of derivative contracts that they entered into a
couple of years ago to hedge their foreign exchange risks.
When the dollar rose substantially, corporate houses were forced to
deal with lower rates because of derivative agreements. For instance,
when they were supposed to get Rs 50 against a dollar for the price of
goods exported, they were paid Rs 40 as per the derivative agreements.
The dealers were allegedly pocketing the differential Rs 10.
The extra money pocketed by the dealer is alleged to be in the order
of Rs 25 lakh crore, most of which went to foreign countries or to
some unknown hands instead of coming to the forex reserves of the
country. Al this has been done in connivance with some government
officials, a local businessman, who had filed a PIL in the Orissa high
court, alleged.
Demanding a CBI probe into the alleged scam, the petitioner sought to
know where the rest of the money went and who the beneficiaries were.
On hearing the petition, a division bench of the high court comprising
acting chief justice I.M.Qudusi and justice Kumari Sanju Panda
directed the CBI to probe into the matter and file a preliminary
report to the court by November this year.
bademiyansubhanallah
Posted: Tue, Aug 18 2009. 9:45 PM IST
Views
Sen and the power of languageAmartya Sen uses simple--yet powerful--
ideas to explain complex phenomena. In his new book, he offers ‘public
reasoning’ to help us conceptualize development
Devaki Jain
One of Amartya Sen’s less noticed contributions to development
thought is the fresh and full-of-potent vocabulary he provides. Terms
such as “agency”, “friendly fire”, “miniaturizing identity” have
become part of our language—short cuts which describe particular
phenomena perfectly. The term agency, for example, has become part of
feminist language—to emphasize the freedom and power to decide, to act
autonomously. There are also concepts such as capabilities and
entitlements, apart from metaphors such as “patients”. For example, in
a lecture “Sustainability and Freedom on International Issues” given
in Tokyo at the Inter-Academy Panel in 2000, he said: “We need a
vision of mankind not as patients whose interests have to be looked
after, but as agents who can do effective things—both individually and
jointly.”
Amartya Sen. Manpreet Romana / AFP
In his new book, The Idea of Justice, he has “released”, another
important addition to our vocabulary, public reasoning—the key to his
deeply argumentative book. “Open-minded engagement in public reasoning
is quite central to the pursuit of justice,” he writes.
“Public reasoning” can now replace “participation”, a concept used by
those who worry or write about people-driven, democratically decided
outcomes. It shifts participation from presence— which is usually
physical—to thought. How people think on any issue, their ideas and
debates are to determine outcome, not merely being there. Such a shift
also reveals a reverence for the thinking capacity of people, a shift
from numbers to ideas: put crudely, from the body to the mind, from
“patients” to “agents”.
Another shift that he makes— though in this case not a linguistic or
even a hierarchical one, but one of focus—is to use injustice as the
fulcrum of his argument, not justice. To eliminate injustice needs to
be the purpose, rather than or in precedence to, searching and
striving to land that perfect system or goal of justice. He argues
that there is so much tangible injustice around us, that just dealing
with that, and if possible reducing that, could itself be justice.
This line of argument, dealing with injustice and not tethering it to
a rigid legal concept, resonates in his earlier work, the Hiren
Mukherjee lecture in Parliament on the demands of social justice,
where he unfolded the difference between niti and nyaya. Niti roughly
translated is law, rules as many of us understand it, but Sen defines
niti as organizational propriety and behavioural correctness, and
nyaya as realized justice. Sen of course is on the nyaya track.
Sen’s argument with theorists of justice, such as John Rawls, can be
interpreted as a way of deconstructing justice, or constructing
justice by removing injustices on the ground, as we experience them
next to us, and not as derived from a structured ideal. It, therefore,
encourages activism, typical of Sen, who is himself an activist.
In the preface to his book, he quotes Pip, the little urchin in
Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, who says, “In the little world in
which children have their existence, there is nothing so finely
perceived and finely felt as injustice.” Amartya Sen would be the
first to agree that this statement could be made by women, by
feminists, whose experience of injustice in its many forms he has
often highlighted. In fact, feminist reasoning, derived from their
explorations of knowledge construction, and feminist practice draw on
public-reasoning, and a reverence for opinion.
Interestingly, as Sen uses injustice as the probe, the measure, rather
than justice, feminists underline inequality even more persistently
than equality. Their experience of inequality—like Pip’s evocation of
injustice—is perhaps the most complex and comprehensive experience of
inequality by any social group. It cuts across all other
stratifications—class, caste religion or location—and enters not only
the household and family, but even the womb.
Sen could have enriched his discourse by engaging more deeply with
feminist philosophers and activists on their ideas of dealing with
injustice; how they have always built their arguments and struggles
through collective endeavours and the inclusion of public reasoning as
the pillar of their construction of justice. It would have given him a
vehicle to legitimize his ideas. He has, of course, brought the famous
European feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft, into the book, but only to
buttress his argument on the inclusive principle of justice. But he
does not focus on the world of knowledge and action of movements such
as the feminist movement and how public reasoning has been a method
used by feminists, even if not called that.
Devaki Jain was a lecturer in economics at the University of Delhi,
and later director of the Institute of Social Studies. She has also
been a member of the erstwhile South Commission, and is now on the
governing council of the National Institute of Advanced Studies,
Bangalore. Comment at thei...@livemint.com
Sid Harth
UPSC complains to apex court against Govt
Satya Prakash, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, August 31, 2009
First Published: 01:22 IST(31/8/2009)
Last Updated: 01:23 IST(31/8/2009)
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has told the Supreme Court
that it is unable to implement some of the suggestions the court had
made, because the government is not cooperating.
In an application filed in March but heard for the first time only
last Friday, the UPSC, which recruits central government servants at
all levels, said the recommendations relating to the appointment of
director-generals of police in different states made by the court in
September 2008, could not be carried out because the government did
not confer on it the authority to do so.
The court, responding to a public interest litigation filed by two
former policemen, Prakash Singh, earlier Uttar Pradesh police chief
and NK Singh, former deputy director, CBI, had asked the UPSC to
prepare, for each state, a panel of three names of those it considered
best suited for the job, from among the top policemen, whenever the
job fell vacant.
The court directed the UPSC to then forward the panel to the home
department of the state concerned.
In its application, the UPSC has alleged that despite the court order,
the Centre never conferred on it the power to make relevant rules and
lay down the procedure for preparing the panel. The UPSC even
suggested a particular procedure, but the Centre never responded.
In response, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan
has issued notice to the home ministry and the department of personnel
and training directing them to respond to the complaint made by UPSC
within six weeks. The bench also issued notice to various states
seeking their views on the issue.
The UPSC said the SC had assigned it a specific task on the issue of
appointment of police chiefs in various states and union territories
but it had not been able to carry out the task due to the Centre’s non-
cooperation.
When contacted, government officials refused to comment on the matter
saying it was sub judice.
bademiyansubhanallah
THE SHAME FACTOR
Ashok Mitra
The country’s Constitution cannot be faulted. The set of directive
principles of state policy it starts with is most uplifting. Consider
the catch-all entry, Article 41, “The State shall, within the limits
of its economic capacity and development, make effective provision for
securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance in
cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement and in other
cases of undeserved ones.” Close on its heels comes Article 45: “The
State shall endeavour to provide, within a period of ten years from
the commencement of the Constitution, for free and compulsory
education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen.”
For full six decades, these articles have lain dormant. Along with
other assumed obligations on the part of the State, imparting
education, including induction of children into primary and secondary
schools, has remained an unfulfilled pledge. In both the articles just
quoted, there is, of course, an escape clause. Article 41 indicates a
rider: the State will perform such and such tasks, “within the limits
of its economic capacity”. Article 45 is even more generous: the State
should only “endeavour” to send children to school. Whether the State
has actually put in the endeavour, or merely gone through the motions,
was going to be difficult to determine in all seasons.
The ground reality is daunting though. Close to one-half of the nation
continue to be functionally illiterate. Some who are enumerated in the
census as literate are barely able to inscribe their signature, but,
among them, the proportion of those who lapse into illiteracy is
frighteningly high. While the proportion of literate children in the
age group of six to fourteen has gone up over the decades, the rate of
drop-outs hardly shows any sign of decline. The gender divide is
equally daunting; female literacy as well as school attendance among
girls lag way behind. It is a sorry picture, and it is so despite
grandiose schemes such as mid-day meal schemes and the Total Literacy
Campaign.
A directive principle, a few wise ones thought, was not strong enough;
to transform the landscape, education must be declared as a
fundamental right. The outcome was the 86th amendment to the
Constitution and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory
Education Act. Doubt nonetheless refuses to be a fugitive. Despite the
punctilious — even finicky — details in the new legislation, will
statutory elevation of education as a fundamental right make much of a
difference? If the prerogative of receiving education free of cost is
denied to a child, a complaint might be posted on its behalf to the
nation’s highest judiciary. The Supreme Court could issue a directive
to the authorities concerned, to look into the matter. It is a big
country, the source of the complaint might be a remote village
thousands of miles away from New Delhi. The authorities could submit
the plea that they were doing their best in the matter. If their best
were judged as not enough, the Supreme Court might, at most, hold the
authorities guilty of contempt of court. That, as such, would not
advance the cause of primary education. In addition to the existing
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, a special National
Educational Rights Commission too could be set up along with similar
commissions for the states. These commissions might work round the
clock and receive unending representations. But the impact of their
findings is unlikely to be any more impressive than that of the
assorted human rights commissions.
No mystery actually lies behind the failure to live up to the promises
of the Constitution with regard to literacy and elementary education.
Those in charge of shaping the nation’s destiny have not ever
considered the issue as one of life and death. Passion can move
mountains. If there were enough national passion for the cause,
illiteracy could have been wiped out from the country within the space
of a few years by launching a massively big push. China could do it
within a decade of the establishment of the People’s Republic; the
embers of the fervour which drove the revolution were still burning —
that did the magic. Or take the instance of a small country in Central
America, Nicaragua, which had as high a rate of illiteracy as 92 per
cent when the Sandinistas assumed power for the first time in the
1970s. In the course of a bare quinquennium, they brought that rate
down to less than 10 per cent.
We did not go through a revolution. Still, we have the commitments in
the Constitution reflecting national aspirations during the freedom
movement. But, at a certain stage, the passion that ignited those
pledges was spent. Whether the poor are taught letters or remain dumb,
or whether children from impoverished families attended school, ceased
to bother the power brokers. Even where passion was dysfunctional,
fear that the deprived millions could turn against them in the polling
booths might have propelled ruling politicians to positive action.
Notwithstanding their state of ignorance — or conceivably because of
it — the poor have, however, continued to exercise their franchise in
the manner that the governing oligarchs wanted them to. A little
learning, who knows, could in fact be a dangerous thing; if a morsel
of literacy imbues the poor with a quantum of social awareness, they
might begin to vote errantly; better play safe.
Cynicism, or myopia, or whatever, if only it could be snuffed out,
objectives such as 100 per cent literacy and school attendance of all
children in the age group of 5-14 should not be beyond the nation’s
reach. But it presupposes a return to what is now derisively described
as idealism. Conventional modalities per se are unlikely to make much
headway. Why not, instead, raise an education army of one million
dedicated young graduates who will spread -eagle themselves across the
states and Union Territories, and act as a vanguard, under appropriate
guidance, of a national literacy-cum-schooling campaign? There were,
at the last count, 350 universities and 60,000 colleges in the
country, with a total student population exceeding one crore. It
should not be difficult to recruit one million earnest ‘literacy
scouts’ to take up the challenge. These scouts will be the
constituents of a network of state, district, taluk, village and
muhalla squads, and reach out to the humblest household in the
remotest towns and villages. Each scout may be assigned the
responsibility for ten households that have lagged behind or been left
out of the literacy race. He will be charged with the mission of
ensuring that each child attends school and each adult is literate.
The authorities may consider offering the scouts a monthly stipend of
say, Rs 15,000. There will be need for further outlays, including some
on account of construction of new schools and for essential
educational equipment, such as textbooks and other accessories. To
reduce drop-outs and persuade economically hard-up parents to agree to
send their children to school, monetary compensation may also be
called for. Subsidies to raise the nutritional standards of school-
going — and even pre-school-going — children should not be ruled out
either. All told, the total annual outlay could be of the order of Rs
50,000 crore, supplemental to spending under official auspices
pursuant to the recently enacted legislation.
This nation lays aside close to Rs 150,000 crore in the name of
defence. A further amount of around Rs 30,000 crore is put aside, it
is a fair guess, to ensure internal security, which includes the
provision of regalia for a battalion of mostly useless politicians. A
system that makes this much of outlay in order to feel safe should not
be under any strain to spare another Rs 50,000 crore for universal
education. But no: a suggestion of this nature is bound to meet with
instant disapproval. For there is no lobby for either universal
literacy or primary education. In the absence of pressure groups, the
authorities will not deviate from the beaten track. It is an aspect of
felt emotions. We are ashamed at the prospect of being given a bloody
nose by Pakistan or China. We, however, experience no sense of shame
if the majority of our compatriots are horrendously poor or their
children fail to attend school because they cannot afford to.
bademiyansubhanallah
Letters to Editor
Waiting for justice
Sir — The outburst of the former Chief Justice of India, J.S. Verma,
at the large number pending cases in various courts of the country
shows that he is concerned about the snail’s pace at which the
judicial machinery operates ( “Ex-CJI blames judge trips at govt
expense for pile-up”, Aug 26 ). His criticism comes at a time when the
prime minister had to urge the judiciary to declare “war” against the
huge pile-ups, pointing out India ’s dubious distinction of having the
largest number of pending cases in the world. Verma’s suggestions, if
followed, could lead to real improvement in the disposal of cases. If
people have to wait endlessly to get justice, the system of dispensing
justice begins to lose its relevance in society, and this could end up
encouraging lawlessness in the long run.
The people have heard all the right political noises about setting up
fast-track courts, special courts, lok adalats and so on. However, how
many cases have been settled through such courts, and in how much
time, have rarely been made public. The entire judicial system should
be revamped to make it faster and more transparent, to which end the
judiciary and the law ministry should work together. It is important
to ensure that the people do not lose their trust in the judicial
system.
Yours faithfully,
Srikanta Bhattacharjee,Calcutta
Sir — J.S. Verma has raised a timely question about the accumulation
of cases in India’s courts. Verma had been successful in clearing the
backlog when he was the CJI, but thereafter the situation has reverted
back to the usual slowness at the courts. Besides, there have been
reports of irregularities in the system that have forced litigants to
take recourse to out-of-court settlements. If the judiciary fails to
clear the back-log in time, then the country’s democratic ethos is
liable to be damaged.
Yours faithfully,Jayanta Datta, Hooghly
Sir — J.S. Verma is right in stating that judges of the apex court
should cut down on travel as this hampers the speedy disposal of
cases. In order to clear the backlog, apart from drafting in retired
judges as suggested by Verma, vacations for judges need to be
curtailed as well. The practice of calling frequent adjournments, too,
needs to stop as these further increase the backlog.
Yours faithfully,
A.S. Mehta, Calcutta
bademiyansubhanallah
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LEGAL NEWS 31.08.2009
Posted on August 31, 2009 by advocatekamal
Probe ordered into fire at AP High Court
http://www.ptinews.com/news/257007_Probe-ordered-into-fire-at-AP-High-Court
STAFF WRITER 14:14 HRS IST
Hyderabad, Aug 31 (PTI) An enquiry has been ordered into the fire
incident at the Andhra Pradesh High Court today.
The fire, which broke out in the wee hours, gutted eight judge
chambers and damaged a library and a conference hall following which a
probe has been ordered into the incident, Fire Brigade DG Aruna
Bahuguna told reporters after inspecting the site.
Preliminary investigations point out that the fire started with a
short circuit, she said.
However, we will enquire into all angles, the DG said, adding, “We
have to ascertain whether the fire was first noticed in the first or
second floor.”
Meanwhile, official sources said the High Court would be closed for
two days in view of the fire.
Supreme Court accepts CPI-M leader Vijayan’s plea (Lead)
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a75973.html
New Delhi, Aug 31
The Supreme Court Monday admitted CPI-M Kerala state secretary
Pinarayi Vijayan’s plea against the state governor’s approval to the
Central Bureau of Investigation to prosecute him for his alleged role
in a corruption case as a minister in 1997.
A bench of Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice B.S. Reddy admitted
Vijayan’s lawsuit directly for hearing, skipping preliminary
formalities like issuing notices to various parties to the lawsuit and
seeking their replies, as it involved some important questions of law.
The crucial questions that cropped up during the preliminary hearing
included weather a government could be immune to the influences of the
ruling party or its chief, and whether the CBI could directly approach
the governor to seek sanction for prosecution of a former or sitting
state minister without hurting the federal structure of the country.
“But what if the person is a general secretary, who controls the
party? Can’t he influence the government?,” asked Justice Raveendran
as senior counsel Fali S. Nariman, appearing for Vijayan, contended
that as former minister Vijayan was in no position to influence the
state’s council of ministers to impede sanction for the prosecution in
the corruption case.
Nariman pointed out to the court that in the case of Vijayan, the CBI
had directly written to the state governor seeking his approval under
section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code for prosecution for his
alleged corrupt deeds as power minister in 1997.
Nariman told the court that after the state governor received the CBI
request, he referred the matter to the state chief minister, who in
turn got the legal opinion of the state’s advocate general.
The advocate general opined that there was no case of corruption made
out against Vijayan and accordingly the state’s council of minister
advised the governor not to grant sanction for Vijayan’s prosecution,
said Nariman. Yet the governor granted his sanction to prosecute
Vijayan, Nariman said.
Responding to the court’s query as to whether the governments could be
deemed to be immune to the influence of the ruling party or its chief,
Nariman sought to assert that the constitutional provisions of the
country ensure that the government remain immune to the undue
influences of the ruling party.
Appearing for the state government, senior counsel Harish Salve
contended before the court that the CBI directly approaching the
governor and seeking his sanction for Vijayan’s prosecution did not
auger well for the federal structure of the country.
He pointed out to the court that if the state government had advised
the governor against Vjayan’s prosecution, it was not a situation
without remedy.
The state government’s action could have been challenged in the high
court and the governor should not have directly come forward to grant
his sanction for prosecution ignoring the advise of the council of
ministers, which is constitutionally binding upon him, he said.
Appearing for the state governor, former union law minister Shanti
Bhushan defended the decision to grant sanction to prosecute Vijayan,
saying that the governor was empowered to utilize his discretion.
He said the governor had given his approval for prosecution after
taking appropriate legal advise from a retired high court judge.
Vjayan is facing prosecution for his alleged role in awarding a
contract in 1997 for renovation and modernization of three hydro-power
plants in the state to a Canadian firm, SNC Lavalin, without any
competitive bidding.
The government’s official auditor later had found that the award of
the contract by the Kerala State Electricity Board to the firm at the
behest of the minister had resulted in a loss of Rs.3.5 billion to the
exchequer.
The contract had allegedly been given to the Canadian firm ignoring a
Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited report, which had said that the
renovation of three power plants could have been achieved at a cost of
less than Rs.1 billion.
Last updated on Aug 31st, 2009 at 19:09 pm IST–IANS
Pinarayi case: SC notice to CBI, Kerala govt
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/Pinarayi-case-SC-notice-to-CBI-Kerala-govt/articleshow/4954651.cms
Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN 31 August 2009, 03:26pm IST
NEW DELHI: SC has issued notices to CBI & Kerala govt on Pinarayi
Vijayan, the CPM politburo member petition challenging governor’s
sanction for his prosecution in Supreme Court.
A bench of Justice R.V. Ravindran and Justice B.S. Sudarsan Reddy
admitted Vijayan’s lawsuit directly for hearing saying that it
involves several important questions of law.
The questions included how much influence a ruling political party or
its chief can impose upon its government.
Vijayan is accused of wrongfully awarding a contract to the Canadian
company SNC Lavalin for renovating three power plants when he was the
state power minister in 1997.
The charges against Vijayan were filed in the special court after
Kerala Governor R.S. Gavai in June gave the go-ahead to the CBI to
prosecute the Marxist leader.
The CBI had asked Vijayan to appear before the CBI court at Kochi Sep
24 in the Rs.374-crore SNC Lavalin scam, in which he is the seventh
accused.
J&K HC to hear bail application in Shopian case today
http://www.indlawnews.com/newsdisplay.aspx?437ba65d-aecb-4d76-b669-48c3b95d1fb9
8/31/2009
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court will resume hearing on the bail
application of two police officers in Shopian double rape and murder
case today.
The case came up for hearing before the single bench of Justice Sunil
Hali on August 28.
However, after hearing the arguments from both sides, Justice Hali
listed the case for Monday for further arguments.
The counsel for the accused Aseem Mehrotra pleaded that since there
was no material evidence against both police officers, they should be
released on bail.
He informed the court that there was no evidence which suggest their
direct or indirect involvement in the crime.
However, counsel for the state opposed the bail and said that despite
violence marks on the bodies of two women — Neelofar and Asiya — the
police officers failed to register an FIR. An FIR was registered after
a delay of six days during which period vital evidence in the case had
been destroyed.
One-man commission of inquiry headed by Justice (retd) Muzaffar Jan,
appointed to probe the rape and murder, in his report has said that
involvement of a state police agency could not be ruled out
completely.
Later, Matoo and Rohit were arrested alongwith two other police
officers on the direction of the High Court.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) is now probing the case.
The SIT had announced a reward of Rs 20 lakh for any one who would
provide any clue leading to arrest of the culprits.
UNI
Patna HC confirms provisional bail of JD(U) MLA in Brij Bihari murder
case
http://www.indlawnews.com/Newsdisplay.aspx?d1a276fb-3cde-43c7-84fa-d9048aa0c3e1
8/29/2009
Patna High Court confirmed the provisional bail earlier granted to JD
(U) MLA Shashi Kumar Rai in connection with the murder of former
minister Brij Bihari Prasad.
A division bench of the court comprising Justice Navin Sinha and
Justice Dharni Dhar Jha confirmed the provisional bail, earlier
granted to Mr Shashi Kumar Rai and accepted the appeal filed by him
challenging the judgment of a lower court which had sentenced the JD
(U) MLA to two years rigorous life imprisonment.
Earlier, Mr Rai was awarded two years of life imprisonment by
Additional District and Sessions Judge V P Mishra on August 12, 2009
in connection with the murder of Brij Bihari Prasad.
Mr Prasad was shot dead on June 13, 1998, and was admitted in Indira
Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna.
The JD(U) MLA was released by the lower court on provisional bail
after he was awarded two years of rigorous imprisonment. The
provisional bail of Mr Rai was required to be confirmed by Patna High
Court, as per provision of the law.
UNI
HC holds couple’s marriage legal, orders protection
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_hc-holds-couple-s-marriage-legal-orders-protection_1286534
DNA Correspondent
Monday, August 31, 2009 8:31 IST
Ahmedabad: Justice HN Devani of the Gujarat high court has ordered the
Jamnagar police to protect a couple who solemnized love marriage
against the wishes of their family members. The court issued order to
protect the couple after the girl, Jalpa Kanani, herself moved
petition against her father and local police, who allegedly harassed
the couple’s siblings.
The row started after 21-year-old Jalpa, who belongs to the Patel
community, married one Jaideep Parmar, of another community, with whom
she was having an affair. Jalpa’s father lodged a complaint against
Jaideep and other persons who supported them while registration of the
marriage. Under the influence of the community leaders, the Jodia town
police of Jamnagar district started harassing the friends and siblings
of the couple.
It was then that Jalpa filed a petition before the Gujarat high court
against her father, police sub inspector of Jodia town police and
district superintendent of Jamnagar police.
Kandarp Dholakia and Tushar Sheth, Jalpa’s counsels, submitted to the
court that the police are unnecessary harassing the couple and their
supporters at the behest of Jalpa’s father. The court, however, ruled
that the marriage is legal since the two are adults. In its order to
the police the court has also directed that the police should avoid
taking any coercive action against the couple and protect them.
HC dismisses plea for recognition to city nursing institute
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/hc-dismisses-plea-for-recognition-to-city-nursing-institute/509096/
Parimal Dabhi
Posted: Aug 31, 2009 at 0043 hrs IST
Ahmedabad In what could be an eye-opener for the students opting for
professional courses without checking the credibility of the
institutions, the Gujarat High Court has refused to entertain a
petition by a student, who had enrolled in a private ‘nursing’
institution unrecognised by the Indian Nursing Council.
The student had prayed to quash a decision by the Employment and
Training Department that she cannot be given the certificate of
passing an examination of nursing.
The petitioner has been identified as Jully Patel from Shahibaug.
Jully had enrolled for the Certificate Course in Health and Social
Nursing Care in 2007 offered by the Ahmedabad Institute of Medical
Sciences (AIMS). It is run by the Maharana Pratap Health Care
Foundation in the Satellite area of Ahmedabad.
The course duration was two years. And when Jully inquired about the
schedule of the examination after two years, AIMS officials intimated
her about the letter they got from the office of the Employment and
Training Department in August 2009.
The department had asked the institute to delete the word
‘nursing’ from the name of the course and certificate since they did
not take the mandatory permission from the Indian Nursing Council and
the Gujarat Nursing Council.
Shocked by the revelation, Jully moved the HC through her counsel,
Pradeep Patel.
There are two more such institutions in the state, one each in
Visnagar and Mehsana, and students of which will not get the
certificate of nursing as per the decision of the Employment and
Training Department.
Dismissing the petition, Justice R R Tripathi observed, “If a
particular course requires recognition from the apex body like Indian
Nursing Council or Gujarat Nursing Council, the court cannot waive and
direct the apex body to give recognition or to give post-facto
recognition.”
The court further observed, “…grant of any relief in this petition
will give a boost to the persons running such institutes without
obtaining necessary recognition from the body authorised to give under
law.”
As regards the the petitioner’s grievances against the institute, the
court left it open for the petitioner to file any civil suit for file
for damages against the institute.
Unlicensed quarries come under HC fire
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/City/Mumbai/Unlicensed-quarries-come-under-HC-fire/articleshow/4952385.cms
Swati Deshpande, TNN 31 August 2009, 12:42am IST
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has stepped in to stem the largescale
illegal quarrying and resultant environmental and ecological damage in
Thane district and in Navi Mumbai. The HC recently directed that
quarrying by any unlicensed operator at nine locations be stopped
immediately till further orders.
A PIL filed before the HC stated that according to the Thane
collectorate, there was no quarrying lease granted for nine sites and
yet hills were being razed illegally.
The HC ordered government officials to ensure that its direction
was”scrupulously observed” and called for detailed affidavits from the
Thane and Navi Mumbai municipal corporations, Thane collector, state
environment & forest department and the Maharashtra Pollution Control
Board on the extent of environmental damage and status of quarrying
activities.
The order comes as a breather for those fighting against the powerful
quarrying operators’ lobby and more importantly, the unquantifiable
and irreversible environmental damage that the unrestricted quarrying
is causing to the scenic hill area of Thane and Navi Mumbai.
The PIL was filed by Pradip Indulkar, a local businessman-activist
after answers to his queries under the Right to Information (RTI) Act
led him to believe that the civic authorities were finding ways to
modify licence terms to enable continued quarrying by some operators.
He also relied on several news reports, including one that appeared in
TOI, to point out that not just the hills in Thane, but lakes and
reservations for public play parks were being destroyed due to the
rampant greed of stone quarry operators.
Indulkar’s lawyer Madhav Jamdar said preservation of ecology is a
legal obligation of the government authorities. But he pointed out
that a survey of a few sites in Thane around Ghodbunder road showed
that illegal quarrying was taking place in the surrounding forest
in village Ovale. Elsewhere in Bhayandarpada village, quarrying was
permitted by authorities beyond permissible limits.
Use of explosives was going on unabated in an area reserved as a
picnic spot in Thane, said the petitioner, wondering how quarrying
permission was granted by the Thane collector for that site to begin
with. Permission was granted for five years under the Mumbai Minor
Minerals excavation rules to Dynasty Engineering and Construction
Company in 2007 with a condition that it had to validate the approval
in 2008 from the civic body. The PIL claimed that the company had
furnished an undertaking that it would stop quarrying activities when
the Thane municipal corporation decides to develop the land as a
picnic spot. Jamdar said there might be no hill or green cover left
soon for the picnic spot to ever come up.
Similar modifications to leases held by some quarry owners have also
been made, the PIL said. None of the quarry owners or even Dynasty has
been made a respondent to the PIL and Indulkar said they would be
added if the court so directs.
HC cancels results of PCS (prelims), orders fresh test
http://www.ptinews.com/news/256349_HC-cancels-results-of-PCS–prelims—orders-fresh-test
STAFF WRITER 19:47 HRS IST
Allahabad, Aug 30 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court has cancelled the
results of Uttar Pradesh Provincial Civil Service (Preliminary)
Examinations-2007 and asked the state Public Service Commission to
hold the test afresh within a month.
A division bench of Justices Amitav Lala and Uma Nath Singh on
Wednesday passed the order while allowing a writ petition filed by
Dhananjay Singh, who had appeared for the examinations held on
September 30, 2007, results for which were declared on February 1 this
year.
The petitioner contended that while he could not make it, candidates
who scored less than he did were declared successful as separate cut-
offs had been set for those belonging to the general category, OBCs,
SCs and STs.
SC refuses to stay HC order that decriminalizes gay sex- so now
homosexuality is legal across India (for now)
http://www.afterellen.com/node/57884
It’s kind of old but im excited to read about this.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the Delhi High
Court judgment decriminalizing homosexuality. The ruling is now
applicable all
over India.
The apex court also pulled up the government and asked it to speed up
its response on the issue.
The Delhi High Court verdict decriminalizing consensual gay sex has
put the government in a fix as it remains undecided about its stand in
the Supreme Court, 11 days after a response was sought from it on the
vexed issue.
“No affidavit has been filed in the court as yet. It has to be seen
what happens in the court,” Attorney General G E Vahanvati, had told
PTI on Sunday. “You have to wait and watch what happens in the court
tomorrow,” he had said.
While the Centre remained non-committal about its stand on the high
court verdict which has been opposed by different sections of society,
including religious leaders of all communities and a child rights
body, gay rights activists have drawn up a detailed strategy to defend
the verdict.
“We will file our response to the appeals after it is admitted by the
apex court,” said Shivangi Rai, the lawyer actively associated with
the NGO Naz Foundation on whose PIL the High Court on July 2 had
declared the penal provision (under Section 377 of Indian Penal Code)
for gay sex among consenting adults in private as unconstitutional.
The apex court had issued notice to the Centre seeking its response on
the petition filed by a Delhi astrologer challenging the high court
verdict.
Taking note of sentiments expressed by different sections of the
society, the Centre said on Sunday it would not take a hasty decision
on legalising homosexuality.
“We have taken note of sentiments expressed by cross sections of
people and that is why the government is not hasty to form its opinion
to be submitted to Supreme Court,” union law and justice minister M
Veerappa Moily told reporters on Sunday.
DUSU polls: ABVP to approach HC, NSUI for structural reforms
http://www.zeenews.com/news559559.html
Updated on Sunday, August 30, 2009, 17:51 IST
‘-1-mrg-rb7-j align=”"> New Delhi: With Delhi University firm on its
decision to disqualify six DUSU poll candidates, ABVP on Sunday said
it will approach the High Court here for stay order, while NSUI asked
for “structural reforms” in these elections.
The two student bodies said they will continue with their decision to
protest the “unwarranted” decision by the varsity authorities.
‘-1-mrg-rb7-j align=”">
“The hasty decision should have been avoided as penalty and some other
punishment have yielded results. Even if the authorities are ready to
set a precedent, they should bring structural reforms in the student
union polls,” NSUI national secretary Anand Pandey said here.
He said the student outfit will continue with its protest against the
decision which is violative of students rights, but keeping in mind
“high moral standards” of NSUI, “we will not invite any independent to
contest on our ticket”.
ABVP media coordinator Niharika said, “we have decided to approach the
Delhi High Court tomorrow to seek a stay order on the DU decision to
disqualify three of the four ABVP nominees for the polls.”
With the disqualification of six candidates, including three from ABVP
and two from NSUI, the two rival student outfits are devoid of their
presidential candidates.
The NSUI, with only two nominees left in its panel, is likely to face
another jolt as a notice has been served to its joint secretary Rahul
Mathur for violating code of conduct. A decision in the matter will
come by tomorrow evening.
Meanwhile, chief election officer Gurmeet Singh said, “we are
implementing the Supreme Court guidelines on DUSU elections. This time
a tough decision has been taken to send a clear message that law
should not be violated. Earlier, they did not bother and follow any of
our decisions.”
Asked about the demands of structural reforms by the student bodies,
he said: “If they want something, they should give it to us in writing
or knock the doors of the Supreme Court for guidelines.”
On the “structural changes”, the ABVP activist supported the NSUI
demand saying “there should be some proposal from DU on the reforms
which are needed as some of the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations are
impractical to follow.”
The NSUI opposes the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations in totality,
while the ABVP oppose some of it.
With all the candidates disqualified, ABVP has lone nominee in its
panel — Kriti Wadhera for vice-president post.
Asked if the HC rejects the outfit’s petition, Niharika said, “we have
options and we will fight the elections”, indicating that ABVP may
invite some independents to contest polls from its platform.
Meanwhile, campaigning has remained a low-key affair in the University
and the outfits like SFI, INSO and AISA are seen canvassing.
In wake of the protests, security
has been tightened around the campus.
Bureau Report
Shah Rukh turns a lawyer to expose Indian judiciary in ‘Jolly LLB’
http://spicezee.zeenews.com/articles/story39587.htm
Updated on Sunday, August 30, 2009, 20:22 IST
Spicezee Bureau
Mumbai: Shah Rukh Khan will soon portray a role that he has never done
so far. The actor is set to play a lawyer in his forthcoming film
‘Jolly LLB’.
According to reports, SRK is planning ‘Jolly LLB’ under his banner
‘Red Chillies Entertainment’, in association with Rakesh Upadhyay. The
film is said to based upon
a lawyer`s life and will try to expose the Indian judiciary.
“Jolly LLB would take on the pros and cons of the judicial system. The
discussion on the film with Shah Rukh went beyond two hours though the
actor gave just 45 minutes. Shah Rukh felt in love with the script of
the film”, adds a source.
Give priority to eyewitness accounts: CJI
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/City/Ranchi/Give-priority-to-eyewitness-accounts-CJI/articleshow/4952159.cms
Manohar Lal, TNN 30 August 2009, 10:42pm IST
RANCHI: Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan said here on Sunday
that eyewitness accounts in criminal cases must be examined properly
for speedy disposal of cases.
“In some states, eyewitnesses are not heard. On the basis of my
personal experience, I suggest you to hear eyewitnesses properly. This
will give you a clear picture of the case, thus paving the way for
speedy trial,” Balakrishnan said while addressing the First Eastern
Zone Judicial Conference on “Enhancing Timely Justice and
Strengthening Criminal Justice Administration”.
The CJI also outlined three points for judicial officers and said
judges should have a sense of justice, they should be independent and
should shun prejudices. “We are living in a society and circumstances
in our house and environment may force us to become partial. But then
when we are judges, we should be impartial while deciding the cases,”
Balakrishnan said.
This apart, self-introspection and discipline enables you to be
impartial, he remarked.
Balakrishnan advised judicial officers to be courteous and kind to
understand the feeling of the victims.
The criminal justice system is getting delayed for various reasons and
judges should be independent enough to avoid any such delay. There are
cases in which Section 498(A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) is being
grossly misused and warrants and notices are being issued providing a
platform for unwanted harassment by the police, the CJI said.
He also hailed the new amendment to the CrPC law and said these are
very useful but people will have to wait for some more time before it
is notified. He advised the judges to write clear judgments in
criminal cases and advised them to study Indian Evidence Act, IPC and
Criminal Procedure Code.
“Every day you should go through these laws which provides you enough
knowledge in dealing with criminal justice system. The Indian Evidence
Act does not give any liberty to defence counsel to question the
witnesses unnecessarily and seek adjournments,” he added.
He further advised the judges to be punctual and have control over the
bar.
In his address, Justice (retired) S B Sinha of Supreme Court said that
judicial officers should be aware of petty cases, white-collar crimes
and cyber crimes. In a country where there are 73% criminal cases
pending in different courts, of which 70% are petty offence, people
suffer a lot due to unnecessary delay because of the criminal justice
system, Sinha said.
Backlogs: Increasing judges only half the solution
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/backlogs-increasing-judges-only-halfsolution/368586/
Sukumar Mukhopadhyay / New Delhi August 31, 2009, 0:24 IST
Thirty three years ago I had made a seizure in a customs case and now
I had to appear for the eighth time in the Court as a witness. The
prosecution case is pending for thirty two years. Seven times I was
cross examined as witness before the fra-ming of charges. That was
fifteen years ago. Eighth time was now. After my retirement I went to
places like Bangalore, Goa, Delhi many times for appearing as witness.
All these are not true for me alone but all who appear as witness. I
am highlighting all these facts not usually known to others who
recommend solutions but are not exactly aware of the ground realities.
The reality is far grimmer than what people can imagine from outside.
Recently the Prime Minister told a conference of Chief Ministers and
Chief Justices of High Courts that the apex court should be the
catalyst, organiser, mentor and umpire in tackling this issue of
massive backlog of cases pending disposal in courts (Four million
cases pending before the high courts and thirty million before the
lower courts). As a solution it has been suggested by many that
filling up the vacancies of judges and increasing the strength of the
Bench would solve the problem largely.
My considered view is that increasing the number of judges is only
half the solution. What is needed is a thorough procedural overhaul
and attitudinal change in the judicial system.
I may be allowed to present several suggestions from the experience I
have gathered over several decades in conducting litigation in
different courts in India. This is in continuation of the discussion
the Prime Minister has initiated for clearing the backlog. It does not
cast any aspersion on any class of people in the system.
i) Easy adjournments should neither be asked for nor allowed. If a
person is to be cross-examined as a witness, it should not be done
over a period of several years but in quick succes-sion and preferably
on a day to day basis.
ii) Delaying tactics by one party (who has vested interest in delay),
mostly the one prosecuted, should not be allowed.
They usually ask for irrelevant papers and go to hig-her court for a
stay of proceedings on the ground of denial of natural justice. It is
easy to detect their intention and scotch such move.
iii) Frivolous appeals from the government side particularly in the
fiscal cases has become quite common. There is a very large percentage
of cases which are rejected at higher courts. The tendency to file
appeal in higher courts even when the issue is settled against the
Government is quite common.
A task force should be created to analyse in how many unmerited cases
appeals were filed. There is no point in saying that the senior lawyer
approved of it.
iv) Admitting writ petiti-ons and giving interim injunctions rather
easily in so many cases is one aspect which has to be conside-red with
due attention. The principle of alternative remedy should get due
consideration. In a very large number of cases, writ petitions are
admitted and after a few hearings they are sent back to the department
for adju-dication or for decision in appeal.
v) For deciding old cases (which are more than five years old)
separate judges may be earmarked so that greater attention can be paid
to such files which are usually very bulky and have got dozens of
statements and documents in them.
The conclusion is that the massive backlog in courts can be reduced
not by a qua-ntitative approach but a qualitative change in the
approach on the part of all stakeholders.
Email: smukh...@yahoo.com
MRTP panel dissolution by Sept 1: Khurshid
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/mrtp-panel-dissolution-by-sept-1-khurshid/368519/
BS Reporter / New Delhi August 30, 2009, 0:11 IST
Section 66 of the Competition Act for repealing the Monopolies and
Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Act and dissolution of the MRTP
Commission would be notified by Tuesday, said Salman Khurshid,
minister of state for corporate affairs. This move would end the
problem of concurrent jurisdiction between the two laws.
The Competition Commision of India (CCI), established in 2003 as an
advisory body, got statutory powers in 2007 by an Act of Parliament.
Thus, this had necessitated repealment of the MRTP Act.
The minister also said in an interaction with members of PHD Chamber
of Commerce, an industry body, that the government was open to a
dialogue with the industry to know its apprehension and concerns
relating to notification of Section 5 of the Competition Act. The
Section related to mergers and amalgamations.
He also said that issues relating to prosecution will be addressed in
the New Companies Bill.
In the new Bill, many routine defaults will be made compoundable
offenses and not treated as criminal offenses.
Need for separate code to deal with terrorists’
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/City/Lucknow/Need-for-separate-code-to-deal-with-terrorists/articleshow/4952615.cms
TNN 31 August 2009, 03:26am IST
LUCKNOW: Criminologist have suggested the necessity of a separate
terrorist code rather than amendment in the existing legislations, to
tackle the act of terror.
Prof N R Madhava Menon, a leading criminologist and a member of
commission on centre-state relations, who was here in the state
capital to attend a two-day national seminar on `Recent anti-terror
legislative changes in criminal justice administration: perceptions
and perspectives of criminal justice professionals’ at Ram Manohar
Lohia National Law University (RMLNLU), said that the act of terror
needs to be taken altogether separately. “Simple modifications in
existing legislations would not help. In fact, issues of national
interest should not be given a backseat fearing the misuse of those
laws,” he said.
Menon, a founder director of National Law School of India University
(NLSIU), Bangalore emphasised on the need of scientific methods for
procuring evidence. A guest of honour on the occasion, Menon also made
participants aware of a machine called `mobilis’ which captures the
video and audio images at the site of the crime that cannot be
tampered with.
Dr Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University, Lucknow is leaving no
stone unturned in exposing the eager young minds of today’s India to
the most intricate details of law.
Prof B B Pande, former professor of law and consultant, National Human
Rights Commission (NHRC), presented the theme paper `Re-orienting
criminal justice policies’ for dealing with crimes like terrorism and
extremism in which he raised three issues — rationalising distinct
criminal justice policies and enactment of special legislations,
justifying special legislations in the light of greater and graver
harm potential of certain deviant conducts and creation of distinct
and exclusive investigatory agencies.
Earlier in the day, vice-chancellor of the university, Prof Balraj
Chauhan welcomed the guests which included former chief justice of
Supreme Court of India, justice J S Verma and senior judge of the
Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court, justice Pradeep Kant.
Experts also gave their inputs to check the growing menace of cyber
crime, which were brought to light by cyber expert, K Rama.
Former judge of SCI and now chairperson, competition appellate
tribunal, justice Arijit Pasayat; senior judge of Lucknow bench of
Allahabad high court, justice D P Singh, criminologist, Prof K D Rao,
director school of Law, IGNOU and Prof Zakaria Siddiqui, former dean,
faculty of Law, AMU, are likely to be present on the second day of the
seminar.
Rules flouted in Neelankarai case
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/City/Chennai/Rules-flouted-in-Neelankarai-case/articleshow/4952352.cms
A Subramani, TNN 31 August 2009, 02:57am IST
CHENNAI: The unexplained custodial death of Rajan, a prime suspect in
the Panaiyur double murder, and the manner in which the case was
handled subsequently by the police has perplexed jurists and rights
activists.
The queries are many: Why was Rajan’s body cremated, not buried, in
such a tearing hurry? Why was he not taken to a hospital and a wound
mahazar (a list of injuries) compiled by a government doctor if he was
really injured in a mob attack while attempting to flee the scene of
the crime? Why did the police not permit legal assistance when Rajan
was in custody? As mandated by the National Human Rights Commission
(NHRC) guidelines, was Rajan’s post-mortem videographed ? And, has a
murder case been registered against the police personnel incharge of
Rajan’s custody, as per NHRC rules?
“It is very peculiar to note that according to reported statements by
Rajan’s family members, the police insisted that they cremate the
body,” said advocate and rights activist Sudha Ramalingam. First, the
police should not have been insistent on the issue. Second, even if
the family wanted to dispose of the body, the police should have
ensured that Rajan was buried and not cremated, she said.
There are umpteen cases where injuries of a suspicious nature have
been subsequently established and the culprits brought to book after
the exhumation of the body, says Tamil Nadu Advocates Association
(TNAA) president S Prabakaran, who is associated with the Federation
of Human Rights Associations. The disposal of Rajan’s body has
virtually closed all options of investigating his death in custody.
Incidentally, the bodies of the elderly couple who were gunned down,
Illangovan and his wife Ramani, were handed over to the relatives only
on Friday.
The police’s claim that Rajan was badly injured in a mob attack
immediately after the double murder and that he died due to those
injuries, does not cut ice with jurists. The Code of Criminal
Procedure as well as the Supreme Court’s 11 Commandments to the police
in the D K Basu case clearly state that injured detenues should first
be taken to a hospital and a wound certificate/mahazar be obtained
from doctors, Sudha Ramalingam says. “Why was this not done in the
case of Rajan?”
The NHRC guidelines mandate that the entire police force in whose
custody the detenue dies should be booked for a case of murder, she
points out and asks: “Has the murder case been registered? If so, who
are the accused in the case?”
There has been no claim even from the police’s side that Rajan was
permitted to meet a relative or friend or an advocate “during
interrogation, if not throughout the interrogation,” said Prabakaran.
Rajan was nabbed at 4.30 pm on Monday afternoon and remained in police
custody till 1.30 am on Tuesday.
According to the police, he collapsed in the Adyar lock-up while
drinking a glass of water and was rushed to the nearby Malar Hospital
where he was officially declared dead at 2.45 am. The body was shifted
to the Government Royapettah Hospital before senior officials issued a
statement saying he had died in custody.
A judicial officer who has spent a lifetime handling criminal cases
said one must await the revenue divisional officer’s findings in the
matter before voicing opinions.
“The essential ingredients of a crime are motive, criminal intent,
preparation to commit an offence and its actual commission. Here, all
these aspects have been established. But this case is all but dead,
unless police come out with a theory that more people were involved in
the offence. If no arrest is made in the next few days, then I am sure
this case will be simply referred for closure,” the judicial officer
said.
He, however, said: “The deafening silence of the close relatives of
victims on both sides is disturbing. It indicates that there is
something more than what meets the eye. But, little can be done
without actionable evidence.”
Dealing with flaws, not laws, police weaken cases against terror
suspects
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090831/jsp/nation/story_11430394.jsp
ANANYA SENGUPTA
New Delhi, Aug. 30: Even if you’ve been proven to be an outlaw in
India, there’s always cause for comfort — in the law itself and from
those who are meant to invoke it.
Take the case of suspected Hizb-e-Islami militant Ayaz Ahmed Shah, who
was arrested by Delhi police’s special cell with 3.5kg of explosives
in 2004 and let off by the courts in January 2009.
Shah got away not because he was proved innocent; he went free because
the police were dealing with flaws rather than laws.
Or, to put it more bluntly, they got sanction for prosecution under
the wrong law from the wrong authorities — where they should have used
the explosive substances act, they applied the explosives act; whereas
they should have gone to the relevant district magistrate, they went
to the police commissioner. Now the two provisions might sound
similar, or indeed the same, but in fact there exists a wide enough
gulf between them to let the guilty slip through.
Additional sessions judge R.K. Jain came down heavily on the special
cell for such a slumbering blunder on the basics of terror law while
acquitting Shah. “The special cell officers were not vigilant enough
to procure required sanctions against the accused, resulting in
lapses. They treated it as just another case under the arms act. In
any case, the benefit of all these lapses has to be given to the
accused. Accordingly, I acquit the accused for the offences he is
charged with.”
But it now turns out that many more might be in line for freedom,
courtesy this critical legal lapse by the special cell; officials have
failed to take due sanction under the explosive substances act in
close to 40 terror-related cases since 2002. Most such cases are in
the final stages of trial and there is little the police can now do to
make amends.
Had he been booked, as he should have been, under the more stringent
explosive substances act, Shah couldn’t even dream of getting bail,
much less acquittal.
Shah’s case has set an alarming precedent for prosecuting agencies —
err on as little as a word of the law and it can become an ignominious
and embarrassing chapter.
Records show that after the discrepancies in this case were
highlighted by Shah’s counsel, M.S. Khan, last year, the police have
been scrambling to file central sanctions in cases where they have
spotted similar faux pas. The law states that no court shall proceed
to the trial of any person for an offence against this act except
without the consent of the district magistrate.
The confusion can be traced back to two sets of laws, which the super
sleuths overlooked. While the accused were all booked under the
explosive substances act, which pertains to materials for making any
explosive substances, they got sanctions from the police commissioner
under the explosives act, which relates to an act to regulate the
manufacture, possession, use and sale of explosives.
These are two different laws with separate sanctioning authorities.
According to the statute, the police commissioner is authorised to
sanction cases pertaining to the explosives act, but the district
magistrate authorises cases under the explosives substances act.
Thus, in Ayaz’s case, where the commissioner had sanctioned the trial,
the court found itself incapable of going on with the case and
acquitted him.
“The provisions of both the acts are very clear and the police need to
act with great caution as hardcore criminals are involved. What
happened shows the police’s callousness and exposes dereliction of
duty on the part of the police. They might have overwhelming evidence
to nail the accused, but unless there is proper sanction, the case is
bound to fall apart and the terror suspect will be acquitted. If an
elite anti-terror unit does not know the basics of law that it is
claiming to protect, then obviously the terror accused will use the
benefit of the technical provision. It’s a matter of great shame for
the police,” said noted criminal lawyer Majeed Memon, who defended
those accused in the 1993 Bombay blasts.
Khan, who is also the lawyer for another terror suspect, 46-year-old
Nazir Ahmad, who was arrested by the special cell in 2005 and booked
under the explosive substances act for carrying RDX, has also
exploited the terror cops’ negligence.
“We have already shown the court that the trial was invalid and in the
next few days when his final hearing comes up in court, I am sure he
will be acquitted,” said Khan.
Sources say that since the lapse came to light in Ayaz’s case in 2008,
it took the police seven months to get back to court with a
satisfactory reply to the defence query about the lapses in sanction.
Sources in the department say that Delhi police commissioner Y.S.
Dadwal held a high-level meeting with his senior officials and it was
then that the process of getting the appropriate sanctions was
started.
“According to the principle of double jeopardy, no one can be
prosecuted for the same crime twice. The lawyers of the accused are
going to invoke this law to get their clients out when the prosecution
presses for a fresh trial. The mess they have landed themselves into
has become a tangled web,” said Memon, adding that a sanction is a
condition precedent for initiating criminal proceedings in the court
of law and not subsequent to it, so no fresh trial can be initiated by
the prosecution.
Ahsan Untoo, head of the International Forum for Justice as well as
the Human Rights Forum of Jammu and Kashmir, however, sees a larger
conspiracy in the special cell’s inability to get proper sanctions.
“They are not going to the central authorities, in this case the
district magistrate, because they have no case against these people.
If the police go to the central government, they have to furnish
evidence, which they don’t have. So, the easier way out is to go to
the police commissioner. It’s not confusion but conspiracy because in
most of these cases, innocent Kashmiris are implicated. In the fight
between RAW and ISI, poor Kashmiris are being victimised,” Untoo said.
THE SHAME FACTOR
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090831/jsp/opinion/story_11430496.jsp
Ashok Mitra
Indian Army flouting guidelines on sexual harassment?
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/22532/indian-army-flouting-guidelines-sexual.html
New Delhi, Aug 31, IANS:
The Indian Army goes by the Army Act while probing allegations of
sexual abuse. But in the process it may be blatantly overlooking
guidelines issued by the Supreme Court on sexual harassment at
workplace, say activists.
“We do not go by the Supreme Court’s guidelines. The army officers
first come under the Army Act and we take serious note of sexual
allegations,” a senior Indian Army official said on condition of
anonymity.
Former judge advocate general of Indian Army Maj. Gen. Neelendra Kumar
said: “The army has a standing policy that every case of serious
nature invariably goes to the military court. The Supreme Court
guidelines are not applicable as we have the Army Act.”
The apex court had issued guidelines for conducting inquiries into
cases of sexual harassment at workplace in an August 1997 judgment and
these are meant to be applicable in the absence of any specific
legislation.
“In the absence of legislation to provide for guarantee against sexual
harassment and abuse, particularly at workplace, the Supreme Court has
laid down guidelines and norms for due observance at all workplaces or
other institutions in India, until legislation is enacted for the
purpose,” K.P.S. Satheesh, chairman of NGO The Guardian Foundation,
said.
The Army Act 1950, which was formulated for men when women had not
been inducted into the forces, does not have specific provisions
dealing with cases of sexual abuse. The allegations are generally
clubbed with “unbecoming conduct” on the part of officers.
“The army’s argument that its personnel are under the Army Act cannot
be accepted since the act was meant only for men. So in the absence of
any specific rules, procedures or norms in the Army Act for solving
sexual harassment at workplace, the apex court guidelines are very
well applicable to the army as well,” Satheesh said.
According to Defence Minister A.K. Antony, during the last five years,
11 cases of sexual harassment have been reported in the armed forces,
where the strength of women officers remains minuscule.
Currently, 5,137 women officers serve in the armed forces. They
include 4,101 in the army, 784 in the air force and 252 in the navy. A
recent example is the case of Captain Poonam Kaur of the Army Supply
Corps (ASC). In July 2008, she alleged that three officers of her unit
had mentally and sexually harassed her and confined her illegally when
she resisted their advances.
The army then constituted a court of inquiry whereby all three
officers denied the allegations and she was found guilty on at least
20 counts, including levelling false charges against her senior
officers.
The apex court has succinctly laid down that any inquiry team
investigating a sexual harassment case should be headed by a woman,
more than half the members should be women and there should be third
party participation in the inquiry like that of a non-profit
organisation.
However, the inquiry into Kaur’s allegations was presided over by
Brigadier R.P. Attri of the army’s Western Command headquarters. Among
the three members of the inquiry, only one was female and there was no
representative from an NGO in the panel.
The Guardian Foundation has moved an application on the army in the
National Commission for Women against “violation of guidelines and
norms prescribed by the Supreme Court while dealing with cases of
sexual harassment at workplace”.
Judgmental
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/22455/judgmental.html
“Judges must know justice is above religion”
A bar association in Kerala has, through a resolution, sought an
enquiry into the conduct of a Supreme Court judge, Justice Cyriac
Joseph, and criticised a statement he recently made at a meeting of
the Christian clergy. The conduct and the statement were reported but
they did not receive wide attention. The impugned action of the judge,
who was chief justice of Karnataka High Court before being elevated to
the Supreme Court in June this year, and the purported statement he
made in Kerala are difficult to understand and that is why they have
raised questions and caused concern.
The CBI, which is investigating the Sister Abhaya murder case in
Kerala, submitted in the Kerala High Court earlier this month that the
judge visited the Forensic Science Laboratory in Bangalore in May, and
examined the narco-analysis tapes of the accused there. Justice Joseph
was Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court then and did not have
anything to do with the Abhaya case which was being heard in Kerala.
The case has become controversial because of the persistent charges of
cover-up attempts by the church. Justice Joseph belongs to the
religious denomination to which the three accused, a nun and two
priests, belong. The judge’s private visit to the laboratory and his
viewing of the tapes have raised questions because there is no
satisfactory explanation for his action. Again, at a meeting in which
senior members of the clergy were present in Kerala this month, the
judge said his religion was more important to him than his position as
a judge. Whatever Justice Joseph meant by the statement, it conveyed
the sense that his commitment to his judicial position was less than
his loyalty to the community and the church. That is strange because
members of the judiciary should be committed to the Constitution and
be guided by it only. They need to be above allegiance to castes,
communities and religions, sense of identities based on states,
languages, and other sectarian considerations. That is necessary to
maintain the judiciary’s independence and impartiality and to retain
people’s faith in it.
Seen in this light, the judge’s action and words could only be
considered improper. A request has been made to the Supreme Court to
conduct and inquiry into them and to take appropriate action. Judges
should also refrain from attending functions organised by religious,
communal or sectarian organisations.
Murderous custom
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/22456/murderous-custom.html
“Existing laws are enough to tackle honour killings”
The spate of honour killings that have been recently reported from
Haryana, Punjab, western UP and Rajasthan show the continuing hold of
a malevolent tradition on people’s minds and the inability of the
society and the law enforcement agencies to counter it. A number of
young men and women have been killed or punished in other ways by
members of their own families or traditional village panchayats,
called khaps, for getting married against the wishes of the family or
in defiance of traditional norms. Even those who fall in love have
been punished and couples who eloped to avoid social sanction have
been hunted down and made to pay for their ‘mistakes’. A young man was
killed in Amritsar last week by relatives of the girl he was in love
with. Four cases of killing of couples were reported from Haryana in
the last three weeks. In all the cases, the role of khap panchayats is
suspected. The state’s average is said to be six or seven cases a
month. Many cases go unreported too.
Couples are punished if they marry outside their castes, belong to the
same gotra or even to the same village, because such marriages are
taboo. Khaps wield enormous power and influence and are outside the
pale of law. They dispense justice in terms of medieval and
obscurantist social canons. Village social groups and families
maintain a sense of false honour handed down from the past and do not
accept the free will and right of choice of individual members of
society. There is a need to put an end to the barbaric custom which
militates against citizens’ rights, rule of law and civilised norms of
social life and conduct.
The police and politicians are often found to be colluding with the
wrong-doers or at least refusing to act against them. Cases are not
sincerely pursued by the police and punishment is rare. Politicians
want to keep the khap panchayats, which have control over votes, in
good humour. It is difficult to curb the practice unless the law is
enforced strictly. There is no need for a separate law, because, as
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram stated, honour killings can be
treated as murder and legally dealt with accordingly. He has suggested
some measures, including sensitisation of the police. It is not only
the police but the entire society that needs to be sensitised and
educated.
‘Court verdict not a setback’
http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/31/stories/2009083160650600.htm
Staff Correspondent
DAVANGERE: Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa has maintained that the
verdict of the JMFC, Bellary, upholding the authority of the Election
Commission to question the decision of the Cabinet to withdraw cases
against the Reddy brothers, was not a setback to the BJP Government.
He said that any government should bow to the order of the court and
the BJP Government would honour the verdict. In a democratic set-up,
courts played a vital role in pointing out the mistakes of the
government, he said.
He was speaking to presspersons here before leaving for Bangalore on
Sunday.
Everything for justice
http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/31/stories/2009083156120800.htm
V.R. Krishna Iyer
The best judge will have nothing to hide and everything to discover
without fear or favour.
The Prime Minister and the Chief Justice demand more number of courts
— in their thousands. This is part of the pathological arrears
syndrome. The truth is: more courts, more arrears, more lazy judges,
more examples of Parkinson’s Law and Peter Principle. The real cause
of the escalating arrears is the absence of accountability and
transparency.
The correctional strategy is an effective Appointments Commission in
place of the dubious collegium, a vigilant Performance Commission, and
periodic collegiate updating of jurisprudence. There is also a need to
sensitise judges about socio-economic and political problems, to pare
down redundant dockets and prolix hierarchy, streamline
procrastination and ensure better-behaved precocity. On the whole, the
Victorian system of justice administration should be eliminated and a
transformation should occur. There should be periodic Law Reform
Commissions whose recommendations are implemented by high-power
judicial committees. There should be more itinerant decentralisation,
evening courts, creative realism and a critical assessment of the
curial hierarchy and public debate of judgments.
For more disposals, early finality and inexpensive justice, the
purposeful therapy is not the arithmetical illusion of judicial
numbers but intelligent selection of the robed brethren, of result-
oriented technology, and summary procedure. One capable judge with
sound social philosophy is a better instrument of justice than a dozen
mediocre, indolent ignoramuses who will merely add to the adipose of
the system.
The Bar contributes to the locomotion of the justice system.
Typically, an American attorney delivers better arguments in 30
minutes than a Senior Advocate would do over three days in an inert
Indian court. An efficient Bar is more promotive of the celerity of
judicial disposal than an elaborate precedent — in a crowded, paper-
logged, forensic, prolonged-performance system. The strategy of
judicial excellence is not a play with numbers, or a game of hiding
assets or delaying the delivery of judgments. The Supreme Court, which
is inordinately the fifth deck of a poor system of justice, is
infallible for the rich because it is final; not because it is wise,
humanist and compassionate or within the reach of the poor.
The Chief Justice claimed that he had the title to represent the
entire judicature, claiming an unknown power oblivious of the
fundamental fact that he is only first among equals and can be
overruled by just two of his brothers. It was a joy to read of the
daring move of the judges together asserting the transparency
principle, defying the chief and deciding to make their assets public.
To hide is to arouse suspicion and suspicion is the upas tree under
whose shade reason fails and justice dies.
Any judge who seeks immunity from truth under the cover of the robe
robs the rights of We, the People of India, the sovereign of Bharat.
Secrecy is unbecoming of the curial fraternity and shall be exposed if
they justify their freedom from revelation from the People of India.
The transparency of the socio-economic condition of the judges is not
negotiably fundamental in any civilised system of justice. The court
is an open book and if the Bench seeks an iron curtain between its
economic interest and the litigant community it is violative of
glasnost.
All’s well that ends well. The huge majority of the judges of the
Supreme Court had to save their reputation, dignity and integrity over
the most powerful constitutional institution. The Chief Justice of
India is the noblest office of justice and is ordinarily infallible,
but the court as the whole is supreme and is governed by perestroika
and glasnost. What a wonder that the whole court has upheld the finest
doctrine of openness. Nothing to hide, everything for justice.
This is why India holds in hallowed reverence the administration of
justice. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so
many to so few. Fundamental rights, human values, sacred duties, peace
and stability are governed by the performance of the court (Article
41).The best judge has nothing to hide and everything to discover
without fear or favour and do justice to everyone, be he high or
humble, without affection or ill-will.
Futile assertion
The pity of it is that the Chief Justice made a case when he vainly
made a futile assertion that judicial assets are a hidden treasure.
No, he made a mistake. But the full court saw the wisdom of judicial
assets being responsibly disclosed to serious citizens under
accountable conditions, not to frivolous busybodies. The chief may be
forgiven because even the great could go wrong.
It was Emerson who wrote: “Is it so bad then to be misunderstood?
Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Luther, and
Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit
that ever took flesh.”
In our murky world of gloom, greed and agony, our duty is to save the
country by means of a compassionate recipe a la Vivekananda: “Feel, my
children, feel for the poor, the ignorant, the downtrodden; feel till
the heart stops and the brain reels and you think you will go mad. We
talk foolishly against material civilisation. The grapes are sour…
Material civilisation, nay even luxury, is necessary to create work
for the poor. Bread; I do not believe in a God who cannot give me
bread here, giving me eternal bliss in heaven. Pooh; India is to be
raised, the poor are to be fed, education is to be spread, and the
evil of priestcraft is to be removed… more bread, more opportunity for
everybody….”
The awakened robes have righted the absurd wrong of the chief. I
salute you for overruling the jejune wrong; the jurisprudence of
concealment is corruption. Corruption is the power of the rich. The
robe shall not permit to be robbed by the rich.
It is better to be ultimately right than consistently wrong. To
conceal the truth with regard to assets is unbecoming of fiat
justicia, civilised justice, justices and justicing. Sorry, chief. You
still can hold a kindly light amid the encircling gloom. No more
darkness, but light. You are still the leader of luminous law and
untainted truth, without fear or favour.
MCOCA checks crime in state
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4952889.cms
Mateen Hafeez, TNN 31 August 2009, 04:15am IST
MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) has
been successful in curbing organised crime, if one goes by conviction
figures. The stringent law, introduced in 1999, has achieved a
conviction rate of 58% as compared to 25% under the IPC.
Of the 95 cases, where the courts have passed their verdicts, the
state got convictions in 57 cases. After Maharashtra, the Act was also
adopted by New Delhi and Tamil Nadu.
Prior to MCOCA, the prosecution agencies relied on Terrorism and Anti-
Disruptive Activities Act (Tada) till it was repealed in 1995. Between
1995 and 1998, a total of 203 cases of shootout were reported to the
police and in most, the underworld was found to be involved.
Soon after MCOCA was put in place in 1999, the number of shootouts
fell to 40 from 93 in the previous year. The figures shrunk to 23 in
the year 2000. Only 90 shootouts took place in the past nine years,
the police say.
“Criminals fear MCOCA as confession under this Act is treated as
evidence. Moreover, the police secure their custody for a period of 30
days as the bail provision is tough,” said crime branch chief Rakesh
Maria who had invoked MCOCA against gangster-turned-MLA Arun Gawli
last year.
Because of the designated courts, the trials begin within two years
and are completed at the earliest. 209 members of the Dawood gang and
167 associates of gangster Chhota Rajan were booked under this law.
Former IPS officer-turned-lawyer Y P Singh said it is easy to procure
permission under MCOCA for tapping suspicious phone calls and using
them as evidence. “The higher conviction rate in MCOCA may not be a
healthy sign. This is because it uses draconian provisions. These not
only ease the rules of evidence but are also inimical to the human
rights of innocent persons who ultimately get acquitted by the courts
but have to languish in jails for years,” said Singh.
Film financier Bharat Shah and director of movie `Chori Chori Chupke
Chupke,’ Nazim Rizvi, along with several others were arrested under
MCOCA in 2000. This was the first high-profile MCOCA case. While Shah
was acquitted under MCOCA, he was convicted under IPC. Rajan’s wife,
Sujata Nikhalje, and others were booked for threatening a developer.
Extradited gangster Abu Salem is facing the Ajit Diwani murder case
under MCOCA.
Crime branch yet to take a call on Hashmi case
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4952900.cms
Mateen Hafeez, TNN 31 August 2009, 04:17am IST
MUMBAI: The city crime branch, probing the `alleged’ discrimination
against actor Emraan Hashmi in the purchase of a Bandra flat, is yet
to decide whether to continue its investigation or close the case. The
state human rights commission (SHRC) has said that it was not
discrimination but a case of `misunderstanding’.
Emraan had a month ago `alleged’ that he was refused a NoC to buy a
flat at Nibbana housing society in Pali Hill `allegedly’ because he
was a Muslim. While a section of the society agreed with his
`allegations,’ several Muslim film stars criticised Emraan’s statement
saying Muslims are not discriminated against. This resulted in a stir
and subsequently minister of state (home) Naseem Khan told crime
branch chief Rakesh Maria to investigate the `alleged’ discrimination
case.
“The crime branch personnel went to Emraan and the seller of the flat,
asking them to give their statements. However, none of them have
turned up for a statement yet,” said Maria.
The matter was later taken to the SHRC. “We will be asking for a copy
of the commission’s order to learn what exactly it has found during
the hearing,” said Maria. He added that the SHRC has sent them a
letter stating that it was a case of misunderstanding between Emraan
and the other party. “We are legally examining if it was a case of
discrimination,” Maria said.
The crime branch is still in the process of obtaining legal opinion on
whether it will be proper on their part to continue a probe in the
case when SHRC has already delivered its verdict. “We don’t know if
the SHRC has closed the case. We are yet to get and read the order
copy,” he said.
Mediation for couples takes billboard route
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4951951.cms
Smriti Singh , TNN 31 August 2009, 04:39am IST
NEW DELHI: A picture is worth a thousand words. A huge billboard
sprawls across the Metro line at Tilak Marg showing a couple sitting
at the extreme ends of a couch. The message is clear there is trouble
in paradise. The surprise comes when one sees Delhi High Court written
on the billboard asking the feuding couples to come to their mediation
cell Samadhan and resolve their differences.
Realising the worth of advertising, the otherwise conservative
judiciary has finally come of age. This is one such example of the
various ways in which mediation is being advertised by the Delhi High
Court Legal Services Committee (DHLSC). Its for the first time that
the concept of the alternative dispute resolution (ADR), a better way
to resolve compoundable offences at pre-litigative stage, is being so
rigorously promoted by the HC.
The HC has also involved CAW cell for its promotion through radio
channels. Recently, the legal aid committee booked 12 slots on 10 FM
channels for over a month and went to promote the concept of
mediation. Not only the jingle informs the listener about the various
options available to the people, it has put full information about
mediation centres at High Court, Nanakpura, Rohini, Karkadooma and Tis
Hazari court complexes.
The mediators believe that extensive advertising has spread more
awareness about the concept of ADR and there has been an increase in
the more number of people looking for alternative options rather than
directly going to litigation. With such advertising, now people are
coming to us right away. Earlier, we used to get cases after they had
already approached the court for litigation. But now, with the media
being involved, people have got trust in the option, said Isha Khanna,
one of the 15 expert mediator in the HC.
She further said that with all the awareness, the figures have doubled
in terms of people approaching the mediation cell. Besides billboards
put up on the prominent intersections across the city and FM channels,
the DHLSC is also distributing animated brochures and calenders giving
information about the mediation.
Seema Dayal (name changed), who recently got her divorce case settled
with the intervention of the mediation cell of DHLSC after 13-years of
court battle, said, earlier, I was not aware of such an option, but
after coming to the mediation cell, my case was settled within three
months without any court proceedings.
With the help of Samadhan, Dayal got Rs 22.50 lakh as final future
maintenance from her husband.
At the lower level, information about mediation is spread through
Delhi Legal Services Authority, which holds camps in all the slum
areas of the capital. With that around 100 police personnel across
Delhi have also received training in counselling at the TISS.
Right to Education Act soon: Minister
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4952360.cms
TNN 31 August 2009, 04:56am IST
VISAKHAPATNAM: Union minister of state for human resource development
Daggubati Purandeswari said the Centre would soon bring an Act on the
Right to Education.
Though primary education is a subject of state governments, the
central government has asked all the states to prepare mandatory norms
for the implementation of the bill, she said while addressing a
programme here on Sunday.
The government would implement compulsory education free of cost from
first class to eighth class, but the reservation percentage would be
finalised by the states. “To discuss the issue we are holding a
meeting with the education ministers of the states in the first week
of September in Delhi,” she said.
She ruled out a separate zone for Waltair railway division, which is
now a part of the East Coast Railway. “The railway ministry has
created a separate zone East Coast railway. So, another new zone will
not be possible right now,” she added.
Purandeswari said she has already requested railway minister Mamata
Banerjee to merge the Waltair division with South Central Railway.
Justice denied as compensation claims hang fire
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4952347.cms
A Subramani , TNN 31 August 2009, 02:52am IST
CHENNAI: If justice delayed is justice denied, then no family member
of any custodial death victim has ever got justice in Tamil Nadu.
Just consider this. Rohini, whose history-sheeter-husband Lingam was
beheaded inside a sub-jail with the knowledge of an assistant jailer
in 1992, got a compensation in 2008. The widow of a bootlegger in
Thanjavur’s Bhoodhalur area, who was killed in the police custody in
1994, finally got compensation in 2005. The family of Marisamy from
Tirunelveli got compensation in 2008, though he was found dead in
police custody in 1998. Rajammal of Vaniambadi got her compensation in
2008, for her husband’s custodial death in 1993. Balu (26) was found
dead inside Korattur police station in 1998, and his family got its
compensation only in 2008.
Marisamy of Nelkattuseval village in Sivagiri was picked up by the
Sankarankoil police in Tirunelveli district on September 16, 1998 in
connection with a petty case. By noon his wife Kalithai received an
information that her husband had hanged himself inside the station
toilet. The police said he had used his lungi as a noose around his
neck. After it was closed as a suicide case, Kalithai moved the high
court seeking Rs 10 lakh compensation. A division bench comprising
Justice PK Misra (since transferred) and Justice K Chandru awarded Rs
2 lakh to her. But, by then, a decade had gone by.
Rohini, wife of the notorious Lingam, moved the High Court after her
husband was beheaded inside the Nagercoil sub-jail by a gang which had
gained entry into the premises with the connivance of an assis-tant
jailer. Justice P Jyothimani, who awarded Rs 6 lakh as compensation
besides another Rs 3 lakh towards interest, said that be it a convict
or undertrial or a notorious element, the duty of the state organ such
as the prison is to protect the life and limb of people under its
custody and care. But the relief reached Rohini in 2008, nearly 16
years after her husband met with the gory end.
The death of a bootlegger at the Bhoodhalur police station in
Thanjavur district in 1994, too ended in the Madras High Court
awarding Rs 5 lakh compensation to his wife. Though a single judge
first awarded only Rs 70,000 as compensation, a bench headed by the
then Chief Justice AP Shah enhanced the amount to over Rs 5 lakh. But
the damages came 11 years after the incident in 2005.
Justice KK Sasidharan adopted a multiplier’ formula, usually adopted
only while awarding compensation to victims/kin of motor accident
victims, to grant Rs 4.32 lakh to a young widow B Ammu and her two
children. Ammu’s husband, Balu, was picked up by the Korattur police
on November 11, 1998 in connection with a theft case.
Police said Balu hanged himself with his lungi when they allowed him
to go to a toilet in the station premises. Though RDO inquiry
concluded that it was a case of suicide, justice Sridharan said death
while he was in the custody of police is enough to order compensation.
“Provisions of sister enactments like Motor Vehicles Act can also be
invoked for arriving at a quantum of compensation,” he reasoned. Here
again, while the incident occurred in 1998, the compensation came to
be awarded in 2008.
The latest case is that of R Dhanasekar, who was shot dead by an
escort constable while the former was being taken from a court to
jail. It is suspected to be a revenge killing because head constable
Murugan’s mother was murdered for gain a few months ago, and
Dhanasekar is an accused in the case. Now Dhanasekar’s father has
moved the high court for compensation. One does not know, how long the
battle is going to take.
Man gets 6-yr jail for neighbour’s murder
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4952141.cms
31 August 2009, 04:30am IST
BHAVNAGAR: In a six-year-old murder case in the city, a man was
sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment on Saturday, while a man was
sentenced to five years of imprisonment in Botad taluka of Bhavnagar
district in a two-year-old murder case.
According to the details of the Bhavnagar case, accused Mithu Garg,
35, had killed Premsagar Gupta ,55, by hitting him with a pan over a
trivial issue on January 5, 2003. Garg was angry at Gupta over his
refusal to address the issue of water wastage. Garg had alleged that
Gupta was wasting water by keeping the taps of his house open.
Garg was arrested on the complaint of Gupta’s son Manish with A
Division police station and was booked under sections 302, 504 of
Indian Penal Code and section 135 of BP Act. Apart from 10-year
imprisonment, additional district court slapped a Rs 5,000 fine and an
additional imprisonment of 2 years in the event of failure to pay.
In Botad, Dhiru Dandhal and his two accomplices had beaten up
Bharatsinh and his younger brother over an issue of the sale of a cell
phone on October 9, 2007. Bharatsinh was badly injured and rushed to
first Botad and then Bhavnagar government hospital, where he died
during a treatment.
Dhandhal and his two aides were arrested and booked under sections
302, 307 of Indian Penal Code. The fast track court in Botad sentenced
Dhandhal to five year imprisonment under sections 324, 304 (2) of IPC
and charged him with a Rs 27,000 fine. The court directed that Rs
3,000 of the fine should go to the widow of the deceased as
compensation. The two other accused in the case were acquitted for
want of evidence.
source: sandesh
Will politicians follow judges in posting wealth details on website?
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4951857.cms
Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN 31 August 2009, 12:48am IST
Dark clouds of suspicion have hung about judges for years because of
their stubborn reluctance to make their assets public. It has finally
been blown away by the winds of transparency generated by a full court
resolution of the Supreme Court on August 26.
Many have since laid claim to this revolutionary happening, from RTI
applicants to self-proclaimed judiciary watchdogs. But the credit must
go to the judiciary, the judges and, of course, Chief Justice of India
K G Balakrishnan for being able to strike a consensus on posting their
wealth sheets on the SC’s official website.
The seed of this revolution was planted 12 years ago on May 7, 1997,
when the full court of the SC decided that all judges, including the
CJI, must declare their, their spouses and dependents assets and
investments. But, they also took a decision to keep these declarations
“strictly confidential”.
The August 26 decision has punctured the confidentiality clause. This
means, every new acquisition of asset or fresh investment by a judge,
spouse or dependent will have to be put in the public domain.
The insertion of the confidentiality clause was mainly because the
judges had feared harassment at the hands of unscrupulous litigants
filing frivolous cases relating to their wealth. Have the judges
overcome this fear? Not really, says the CJI. He wants to wait and
watch the public’s reaction.
Has this decision rendered the Judges Assets Bill redundant? Not
really. It may need some changes, especially of the provision which
barred access to wealth declarations through RTI applications. A law
may still be necessary since the present declarations are voluntary in
nature and it is always better to make things formal rather than keep
it informal.
Sadly, the decision to make public their assets will not end the
debate about the integrity of judges. If a litigant loses a case
before a judge who is rich because of a flourishing practice at the
Bar prior to joining the Bench, then he would invariably be the target
of allegations of corruption. More so, because off-the-cuff
allegations in hushed voices in the corridors of courts spread thick
and fast. Judges, despite their bold decision, may have to live with
this for some time.
At the same time, their decision to declare every addition to their
asset and each new investment has lobbed the ball firmly back to the
court of politicians who had recently stalled introduction of the
Judges Assets Bill in Parliament.
The politicians declare their assets on affidavits only prior to
contesting elections. Will they follow the judges and post on websites
their assets and investments and update it with every new acquisition
and money transfer?
At the time of elections, we come across affidavits telling how their
riches have swelled dramatically in the last five years. During the
last general elections, we saw how some managed to increase their
wealth from lakhs to crores and from crores to hundreds of crores of
rupees.
Will they explain the unusual rate of growth of their wealth?
Revelations about the mean and modes to multiply wealth could provide
ideas to a large chunk of citizens, who have been struggling for years
to cross the poverty line. After all, politicians are the leaders of
the masses who should voluntarily take the lead to remove all
misgivings of the citizens about them.
Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
LEGAL NEWS 10.01.2009
CAN COURT JUDGEMENT BE MANIPULATED IN INDIA ?
India – The Untouchables
INDIAN JUDGES UNDER RTI ACT – 4
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on August 31st, 2009 at 9:05 pm Said:
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bademiyansubhanallah
SC resolution on judges' assets in two weeks
TNN 1 September 2009, 03:19am IST
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday was informed that the judges
of the Supreme Court would take two weeks to sign the resolution on
making their assets public.
The HC, which had reserved its order on the case pertaining to Central
Information Commissioner's order directing the apex court to reveal
information pertaining to declaration of assets by apex court judges,
was told that the process was being finalised.
As per the case, the Commission had held that office of CJI comes
within the ambit of Right to Information Act and the apex court is
bound to reveal the information. The Supreme Court had then approached
Delhi high Court challenging the order which was stayed on January
19.
The apex court's response came when Justice S Ravindra Bhatt sought
its response on the issue as the development took place after he had
reserved the verdict on declaration of assets. Attorney General Goolam
E Vahanwati, appearing for the apex court registry, informed the court
that minutes would be signed in two weeks.
The court, after hearing his submission, said it would deliver the
verdict on September 2.
Last week, the apex court judges have in principle agreed to make
public their assets by putting them on its website.
chhotemianinshallah
Apex court may challenge high court ruling on judges’ assets
September 2nd, 2009 - 11:04 pm ICT by IANS -
New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) The Supreme Court may challenge a ruling by
the Delhi High Court Wednesday that the office of the Chief Justice of
India (CJI) is a public authority to assess judges’ assets and falls
under the purview of the Right to Information Act, top apex court
officials said.
“We have just received the copy of the high court judgment. We are
examining it at present. It will take a few days before we can say
what to do with it,” Supreme Court Secretary General M.P. Bhadran told
IANS.
Though Bhadran refused to categorically say what would be the apex
court registry’s future action, other senior court officials said the
Supreme Court “may have to sit in judgment over the high court
ruling.”
The apex court’s officials say the issue that needs to be settled is
whether the office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) fell in the
purview of the Right to Information Act (RTI). Chief Justice K.G.
Balakrishnan is opposed to the view.
“In the name the transparency, the office of the chief justice could
not be stripped naked,” an official said.
A Delhi High Court bench Wednesday ruled: “The CJI is a public
authority under the RTI Act. The CJI holds the information pertaining
to asset declarations in his capacity as (the) Chief Justice.”
The high court ruling came on an appeal by the apex court’s registry
against the Central Information Commission’s order that the CJI was a
public authority.
In a formal interaction with the reporters last Friday, Chief Justice
Balakrishnan had asserted that his office is out of the purview of the
RTI Act.
“The office of the chief justice is privy to so much of information
like privileged communication between various constitutional
authorities, complaints against judges etc. How can all this
information be disclosed (under RTI Act)?” the chief justice had said.
Apex court officials said they had basically challenged that aspect of
the central information commission which says “whatever information is
with the chief justice has to be with the registrar.”
The officials also pointed out that the Supreme Court judges’ latest
resolution to make public their assets lacked the force of legal
mandate and so it was not even binding on the judges.
chhotemianinshallah
CJI within the purview of RTI, rules Delhi High Court (Second Lead)
New Delhi, Sep 2
Upholding the Central Information Commission (CIC) order that office
of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) is well within the ambit of the
Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Delhi High Court Wednesday ruled
that judges should declare their assets.
In a historical judgement, Justice S. Ravindra Bhat said judges are
accountable but they are also subject to some constraints. He said, “A
judge is not unaccountable as is sometimes wrongly understood and is
subject to several constraints. The judicial branch lacks either the
'sword or the purse' controlled by the other two branches."
The judge also said that the office of Chief Justice of India is a
public authority and it is well within the purview of the Right to
Information (RTI) Act.
The court was hearing a appeal by the apex court's Chief Public
Information Officer (CPIO) against the CIC's order that the office of
the Chief Justice of India is within the purview of RTI Act.
In a formal interaction with the reporters last Friday, Chief Justice
K.G. Balakrishnan had asserted that his office is out of the purview
of the RTI Act.
The high court also directed the CPIO of the Supreme Court to release
the information sought by the petitioner within four weeks.
The court, however, refused to comment on the recent development of
declaration of assets by judges of various state high courts.
During the hearing, Solicitor General G.E. Vahanvati contended that
disclosure of information on personal assets by judges will affect the
independence of the judicial system.
In a petition filed before the CIC, Subhash Chandra Agrawal, an RTI
activist, had asked whether all the judges are declaring details of
their assets, including those of their dependents, to the chief
justice.
The judge while quoting an Australian judge stated, “Some standards
can be prescribed by law, but the spirit of, and the quality of the
service rendered by a profession depends far more on its observance of
ethical standards. These are far more rigorous than legal
standards.... They are learnt not by precept but by the example and
influence of respected peers. Judicial standards are acquired, so to
speak, by professional osmosis. They are enforced immediately by
conscience.”
The court, while upholding the CIC order, also expressed the fear of
misusing the information.
“Judgments of courts are to be based on reason, and discuss fairly
what is argued. Judges, unlike other sections of members of the
public, cannot meet unjustified personal attacks or tirades carried
out against them, or anyone from their fraternity, no clarifications
can be issued, no justification is given as propriety and canons of
judicial ethics require them to maintain silence."
“The judge is thus unable to go and explain his position to the
people," Justice Bhat observed.
"An honest, but strict or unpopular judge can be unfairly vilified,
without anyone giving his version. Similarly, unfounded allegations of
improper personal behaviour cannot be defended by the judge in public,
even though they can be levelled freely they may tarnish his
reputation or worse, and he would have to smart under them, under the
haunting prospect of its being resuscitated every now and then,” the
judge said while expressing his "experience in the case as humble".
chhotemianinshallah
The Times of India Indiatimes Web (by Google) Video Photos Advanced
Search
Comment: Road To Riches
3 September 2009, 12:01am IST
After decades of missed economic opportunities and litigation logjam,
the urban development ministry's initiative to overhaul the property
rights system comes as a welcome if belated development. The proposed
property title system operating on the basis of a comprehensive triple-
register system at the level of the city authorities as well as the
resolution of obfuscated records has the potential to do away with
much of the legal uncertainty that has plagued urban land markets in
India. From a ranking of 36 in the International Property Rights Index
(IPRI) in 2008, India has dropped sharply to 46 this year. This
negative trend could cripple India's efforts to grow its economy
rapidly.
The cornerstone of the IPRI is the correlation between a country's
property rights system and its economic prosperity propounded by
Hernando de Soto. Empirical evidence has borne it out since. Countries
with robust property systems have been seen to have a per capita
income up to as much as nine times greater than those without adequate
legal protection. In India's case in particular, the relevance goes
beyond just economic growth. The nexus of economic deprivation and
political disenfranchisement has had dangerous consequences for
stability and security. It is no coincidence that the poor yet
resource rich eastern states where people have little to no stake in
the land and natural resources are the epicentre of Naxalism.
This, however, suggests the initiative's limited scope. Given that it
is under the umbrella of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal
Mission and the comparatively easier logistics of implementing it in
cities, the decision to start with urban areas is understandable.
Economically as well, it makes sense given that these areas are
expected to contribute about 65 per cent of the GDP by 2011. However,
the other side of the equation that even by 2021, the urban share of
the population is expected to be only 40 per cent illustrates why it
is not enough. The World Bank has stressed the importance of land
access and tenure security in alleviating poverty.
Initiatives modelled on the Bhoomi Keralam project in Kerala might be
a good way forward. Computerising land records and utilising aerial
photometry and GPS to feed a central database, it has been able to cut
down the time taken for resurveys drastically. At the other end of the
system, fast-track courts and gram nyayalayas at the panchayat level
to deal with property litigation are a must as well. It is time
India's legal system underwrote the marketable land rights of an
individual that are the basis of economic growth.
Sid Harth
SC: Courts can monitor investigation of criminal cases
9/6/2009
The Supreme Court has held that courts can monitor the investigation
of a criminal case in appropriate cases where they felt free and fair
investigation was not being conducted.
A bench comprising Justices Altamas Kabir and Cyriac Joseph in their
judgment noted ‘the courts, and in particular the High Court and the
Supreme Court, are the sentinels of justice and have been vested with
extraordinary powers of judicial review and supervision to ensure that
the rights of the citizens are duly protected.’ Justice Kabir, writing
a 30 page judgment for the bench, also ruled, ‘the courts have to
maintain a constant vigil against the inaction of the authorities in
discharging their duties and obligation in the interest of the
citizens for whom they exist.
This court as also the high court, have to issue appropriate writ and
direction from time to time to ensure that the authorities performed
at least such duties as they were required to perform under the
various statutes and order passed by the administration.’ The apex
court further noted ‘if the investigation was being stalled, for
whatever reasons, the courts were not powerless to pass appropriate
order to ensure that the investigation was proceeded with and justice
was done to the parties.
In cases where it has been brought to the notice of the court that
investigation into an offence was not being carried on in the manner
in which it should have been carried on, directions have been given by
the court to the investigating agencies to conduct the investigation
according to certain guidelines, as otherwise the very purpose of the
investigation could become fruitless.’ The apex court upheld the
judgment of Gujarat High Court and dismissed the appeal filed by
Babubhai Jamuna Das Patel in a cheating case.
UNI
Sid Harth
Bombay HC to decide over health minister Rane's petition today
9/7/2009
Justice S B Deshmukh and U D Salvi of the Bombay High Court at Goa
will today take up for final hearing the petition filed by Health
Minister Vishwajit Rane seeking to quash the chargesheet filed against
him for allegedly threatening to kill social activist Advocate Aires
Rodrigues on July 31,2007.
If the Minister fails to get any relief from the High Court, he will
have to appear before Panaji Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC)
Sharmila Patil on September 14 as accused in the criminal case to
answer charges and face trial.
Mr Rodrigues had submitted to the High Court that the Minister filed
the petition before the court in collusion with the Advocate General
(AG) Subodh Kantak, and that all the allegations in this context
against the AG were placed before the Court on affidavit.
On June 30 this year, in an alleged attempt to rescue the Health
Minister, a controversial proposal was moved by the AG to instruct all
Public Prosecutors to withdraw all cases filed by the police under
Section 506 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) as the section was non-
cognisable. The government on the same day hurriedly approved the
proposal moved by the Advocate General, Mr Rodrigues alleged.
Mr Rane and Tourism Minister Mickey Pacheco in Digambar Kamat’s
government are facing criminal prosecution in cases filed against them
by the Goa Police, even as Judicial Magistrates and Session Court
Judges across Goa as well as Police Officers are awaiting the verdict
of the High Court which will resolve the confusion on whether Section
506 of IPC is cognisable or not.
In a 73-page chargesheet filed by the Old Goa Police, Mr Rane faces
charges under Section 506 of Indian Penal Code, which carries a
punishment of imprisonment of seven years or fine, or both.
Sid Harth
AP HC approves setting up of fast track court for Satyam case
9/6/2009
Andhra Pradesh High Court has approved setting up of a fast track
court to settle the multi-crore rupee fraud case of Satyam Computers,
Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said.
‘Agreeing to our appeal the High Court had approved setting up of a
fast track court for the settlement of the Satyam fraud case.
We are awaiting the final notification,’ Mr Khurshid told reporters on
the sidelines of a conference on convergence of corporate governance
norms, jointly organised by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)
Kharagpur and the National Foundation of Corporate Governance (NFCG).
He said the Government was in process of putting in place an early
warning system against such fraud cases.
‘At present we detect such frauds on the basis of anonymous
complaints. But this advanced model would help us to detect any Satyam-
like incident before it happens,’ he said.
The Minister informed that Securities and Exchange Board of India
(SEBI) was helping the Ministry to formulate the system.
Mr Khurshid said investigation into the Satyam case had almost been
completed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
‘The CBI probe is almost over and now we are waiting for the report
from US Internal Revenue Services (IRS),’ he said.
chhotemianinshallah
Weak criminal justice system encouraging corruption: CBI chief
Agencies
Posted: Aug 26, 2009 at 1104 hrs IST
New Delhi Advocating the need for speeding up of inquiries against
officials with "doubtful integrity", CBI director Ashwani Kumar on
Wednesday blamed the "weak" criminal justice system for encouraging
corrupt practices.
"The weak criminal justice system of our country encourages
corruption. Departmental trials of corruption cases go on for years
and these delays encourage the dishonest to indulge in corrupt
practices with impunity," he said speaking at the 17th Biennial
Conference of CBI and State Anti Corruption Bureaux.
"The need of the hour is to complete the departmental inquiries
against officers of doubtful integrity within three to six months," he
said
Making a case for speeding up of trials in corruption cases, the CBI
chief said court cases against corrupt officials should be completed
"within three years".
"We in the CBI and state anti-corruption bureaux feel it is possible,
provided the government, and the judiciary, and Parliament are
determined and work in possible coordination," he said.
The chiefs of anti-corruption bureaux and vigilance agencies from the
States and the Union Territories, besides senior CBI officers are
participating in the conference to deliberate upon the various
dimensions of corruption in India and the strategies to effectively
tackle it.
bademiyansubhanallah
Supreme, but not infallible
V. VENKATESAN
in New Delhi
The Delhi High Court holds that the Chief Justice of India is a
“public authority” under the RTI Act and is covered by its
provisions.
RAJEEV BHATT
Outside the Supreme Court building in New Delhi. A file photograph.
IT was a landmark verdict that was delivered by Justice S. Ravindra
Bhat in the Delhi High Court on September 2. The Supreme Court, for
the first time, was a petitioner before the Delhi High Court, the
first appellate court which is itself subject to the Supreme Court’s
superior appellate jurisdiction. The issue pertained to a query under
the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking information from the Chief
Justice of India (CJI) whether his brother judges in the Supreme Court
have been disclosing their assets to him in accordance with a 1997
resolution adopted by the Supreme Court.
The CJI, Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, maintained that his office was not
a public authority under the RTI Act and therefore he was not bound to
answer the query. The Central Information Commission (CIC) held that
the CJI was a public authority under the RTI Act and was, therefore,
bound to answer RTI queries. The Central Public Information Officer
(CPIO) of the Supreme Court appealed in the Delhi High Court against
this ruling of the CIC. The Supreme Court was represented by Attorney
General G.E. Vahanvati. Later, the Registrar of the Supreme Court was
added as a party. Subhash Chandra Agarwal, the information-applicant
under the RTI Act, assisted by counsel, Senior Advocate Prashant
Bhushan, was the respondent.
Justice Ravindra Bhat prefaced the operative parts of his judgment
saying that judges were not unaccountable, but they worked under
visible constraints. A judge could be vilified, he said; but propriety
required the judge to keep silence, he added. Judgments had to be
based on reason; no clarification could be issued, he further
explained. Impartiality and diligence were an inalienable part of
every judge, he pointed out.
Then he read out the operative parts of his judgment: The CJI, he
held, was a public authority under the RTI Act and the CJI held the
information pertaining to asset declaration in his capacity as the
Chief Justice; his office was a “public authority” under the Act and
was covered by its provisions. Secondly, he held that the declarations
of assets by Supreme Court judges to the CJI were “information” under
the RTI Act, and therefore, subject to the provisions of the RTI Act.
The Supreme Court had argued that the CJI held asset declarations by
his brother judges in a fiduciary capacity, which would be breached if
they were disclosed to the applicant under the RTI Act. Justice Bhat
found this argument insubstantial and held that the CJI did not hold
such declarations in a fiduciary capacity or relationship.
Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act says that disclosure may be refused if
the request pertains to “personal information the disclosure of which
has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would
cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual”. If,
however, the information-applicant can show sufficient public interest
in disclosure, the bar (preventing disclosure) is lifted, and after
duly notifying the third party (that is, the individual who is
concerned with the information or whose records are sought), and after
considering his views, the authority can disclose it.
The Supreme Court argued before the High Court that information about
personal asset declarations had nothing to do with the individual’s
duties required to be discharged as a judge.
The Supreme Court also emphasised that access to information regarding
judges’ assets would result in unwarranted intrusion of privacy.
Subhash Chandra Agarwal, however, argued that as the information-
applicant, he was not concerned with the content of asset
declarations. Justice Bhat held that the procedure under Section 8(1)
(j) was inapplicable in this case.
THE 1997 RESOLUTION
As a last resort, the Supreme Court asked the High Court to decide
whether lack of clarity about the details of asset declaration
rendered asset declarations and their disclosure unworkable.
Agarwal relied on the resolution adopted in the Full Court meeting of
the Supreme Court on May 7, 1997, which reads as follows:
“Resolved further that every judge should make a declaration of all
his/her assets in the form of real estate or investments (held by him/
her in his/her own name or in the name of his/her spouse or any person
dependent on him/her) within a reasonable time of assuming office and
in the case of sitting judges within a reasonable time of adoption of
this resolution and thereafter whenever any acquisition of a
substantial nature is made, it shall be disclosed within a reasonable
time. The declaration so made should be to the Chief Justice of the
court. The Chief Justice should make a similar declaration for the
purpose of the record. The declaration made by the judges or the Chief
Justice, as the case may be, shall be confidential.”
The Supreme Court suggested to the High Court that the 1997 resolution
did not state with clarity what “assets” and “investments” were and
that this ambiguity rendered the system unworkable. The High Court
agreed with this interpretation of the Supreme Court and shared its
concern that there was likelihood of individual Justices of the
Supreme Court interpreting the expression differently.
But the High Court did not find this an insurmountable obstacle as the
Supreme Court made it out to be. Justice Bhat concluded: “The CJI, if
he deems it appropriate, may in consultation with the Supreme Court
judges, evolve uniform standards, devising the nature of information,
relevant formats, and, if required, the periodicity of the
declarations to be made.”
SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, the Chief Justice of India.
It is tempting to consider the Delhi High Court’s judgment as a
setback to the Supreme Court’s image as the provider of sober
leadership to the judiciary in the country. It is felt that the
Supreme Court contributed to this situation by stonewalling questions
under the RTI Act.
Agarwal had avoided asking for details of the assets disclosed by the
judges, as the resolution considered them confidential. It is felt
that had the CPIO of the Supreme Court provided the preliminary
information sought by the information-applicant, the matter may not
have reached the High Court.
FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION
In its petition before the High Court, the Supreme Court argued at the
outset that it had filed the petition not with a view to raise
technical objections in order to avoid declaration of assets by the
judges but on a fundamental question of law with regard to the scope
and applicability of the RTI.
The Supreme Court also clarified that the judges of the Supreme Court
were not opposed to declaring their assets provided that such
declarations were made in accordance with due procedure laid down by a
law that would prescribe (a) the authority to which the declaration
would be made; (b) the form in which the declaration should be made,
with definitional clarity of what are ‘assets’; and (c) proper
safeguards, checks and balances to prevent misuse of information made
available.
The Supreme Court might have been legally correct in justifying its
petition before the High Court on these grounds, but in the process it
was seen as compromising its moral duty to adhere to its publicly
declared resolution adopted by the Full Court in 1997. That the 1997
resolution was without legal backing was obvious. Yet, it was
precisely because of this that the resolution was supported whole-
heartedly and endorsed by the Full Court, thus reaffirming the court’s
abiding faith in the moral and ethical basis of the Constitution and
the laws. In other words, the 1997 resolution sought to set the
judiciary apart from the political class, which was seen as fast
losing its moral authority.
However, in 2009 the same Supreme Court questioned the moral
legitimacy of the 1997 resolution and exposed its reluctance to abide
by any ethical commitments. In its petition before the High Court, the
Supreme Court contended that the 1997 resolution was non-binding and,
therefore, could not have been the source of the right to seek
information. If one were to concede this contention, it would mean
casting doubts on the judges of the Supreme Court who endorsed the
resolution in 1997 that they did so only because they believed that
the resolution was non-binding.
Besides, by refusing to abide by this resolution, the Supreme Court
also left in doubt the applicability and relevance of another
resolution adopted by the Full Court meeting on May 7, 1997. According
to this resolution, an in-house procedure should be devised by the CJI
to take suitable remedial action against judges who, by their acts of
omission and commission, do not follow the universally accepted values
of judicial life, including those indicated in the “Restatement of
Values of Judicial Life”.
(The Restatement of Values of Judicial Life, a detailed moral code of
conduct for judges of the higher judiciary, was subsequently also
adopted by the Chief Justices’ Conference in December 1999. The code
laid down 16 specific rules of conduct, illustrative of what is
expected of a judge. The very first code suggested that the behaviour
and conduct of members of the higher judiciary must reaffirm people’s
faith in the impartiality of the judiciary. Accordingly, it advised
the judges to avoid any act, whether in official or personal capacity,
that can lead to the erosion of this faith.)
While pursuing the case the Supreme Court said individual judges had
the choice of declaring or not declaring assets, an autonomy that
could not be commented upon or interfered with by the CJI. It cited
its own judgment in Indira Jaising vs Registrar General 2003 (5) SCC
494 to suggest that the only source or authority by which the CJI
could exercise this power of inquiry over other judges was moral or
ethical and, therefore, the CJI could not be asked to disclose a
report made to him while exercising this power.
In contrast to the Supreme Court’s claim, the Delhi High Court Bar
Association (DHBA), another party to the case, submitted that the 1997
resolution was meant to reinforce faith in the judiciary and that the
present denial of information tended to undermine it. The DHBA
contested the Supreme Court’s claim that the 1997 resolution had no
legal sanctity. It suggested that judges functioned under the
Constitution and owed their existence to it. It said that if, in the
course of a judge’s tenure, a decision to declare personal assets was
taken with a view to establishing a convention, such a practice had
the sanctity of law as a convention of the Constitution.
SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
Subhash Chandra Agarwal, RTI activist and information-applicant in the
judges’ assets case.
Another stance adopted by the Supreme Court was to distinguish the
CJI’s office from that of the Registrar of the Supreme Court and plead
that the CJI performed a variety of functions than merely as the Chief
Justice of India, and in such capacity, through his office, separately
held asset declarations and information relating to them pursuant to
the 1997 resolution.
Justice Bhat conceded the CJI’s prominent role in higher judicial
appointments, and as the “head of the judiciary” or the judicial
family. He also acknowledged that the CJI, for convenience, could
maintain a separate office or establishment as he performed a
multitude of tasks. But all these tasks were directly relatable to his
holding the office of the CJI and heading the Supreme Court. Justice
Bhat endorsed the CIC’s finding that the institution and its head
could not be two distinct public authorities. Information available
with the CJI, therefore, must be deemed to be available with the
Supreme Court.
QUESTION UNANSWERED
Asked by the Appellate Authority (under the RTI Act) in the Supreme
Court to reconsider Subhash Chandra Agarwal’s application, the CPIO
left unanswered the principal question whether the information
relating to asset declaration was held by the CJI or separately in
another office of the CJI. The CPIO did not assign Agarwal’s
application to either the CJI or any other office or authority. The
CPIO was perhaps of the view that the CJI’s office was different from
the Supreme Court, and not covered by the RTI Act.
Justice Bhat directed the CPIO to release the information sought by
Agarwal about the declaration of assets made by judges of the Supreme
Court within four weeks.
One aspect of the judgment is of concern, though. Since Agarwal did
not seek the contents of the declarations, it was not necessary for
Justice Bhat to pronounce on the disclosability of the contents. But
he did precisely that by holding that the contents of asset
declarations – pursuant to the 1997 resolution and the 1999 Conference
resolution – are ‘entitled to be treated as personal information and
may be accessed in accordance with the procedure prescribed under
Section 8(1)(j); they are not otherwise subject to disclosure’.
Observers expressed concern that this might be used as a loophole by
judges who refuse to share the details of their assets in public.
Justice Bhat took note of the Supreme Court’s Full Court resolution on
August 26 to put asset details of judges on the Supreme Court’s
website, but refrained from commenting on it. (See interview with
Prashant Bhushan.)
PRESSURE OF PUBLIC OPINION
The August 26 resolution, which has not yet been officially drafted
and released in public, is the outcome of pressure of public opinion
expressed in various forums.
The opposition to the introduction of the Judges (Declaration of
Assets and Liabilities) Bill in the Rajya Sabha on August 3 was one
such event, which showed the government and the Supreme Court in an
unholy nexus. Clause 6 of this Bill mentions that the declaration made
by a judge to the competent authority shall not be made public or
disclosed, and shall not be called for or put into question by any
citizen, court or authority, and no judge shall be subjected to any
inquiry or query in relation to the contents of the declaration, by
any person.
This clause appeared to defeat the very objective of the Bill, which
was to ensure transparency. The opposition from members, cutting
across party lines, forced Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily to defer the
introduction of the Bill. It was a tactical decision, as the
introduction of the Bill would have meant testing the government’s
uncertain strength in the Upper House. Besides, a Minister cannot
introduce a Bill in the House if members oppose it on the grounds that
it is unconstitutional. On August 3, members opposed it saying it went
against the letter and spirit of Article 19 (guaranteeing freedom of
expression).
More developments followed. Justice Shailendra Kumar of the Karnataka
High Court wrote a two-part article in a newspaper, distancing himself
from the stand of the CJI and questioning his authority to speak on
behalf of the entire judiciary on the disclosure of assets. He went
ahead and published his asset details on the Internet. Justice K.
Chandru of the Madras High Court also defended the disclosure of
assets by judges. Justice K. Kannan of the Punjab and Haryana High
Court, even while disagreeing on his blog with the demand for
disclosing judges’ assets, made public his own asset details to carry
credibility.
The CJI described Justice Shailendra Kumar as “publicity crazy” and
opined that High Court judges could disclose their assets if they
wanted but the Supreme Court was trying to evolve a consensus in this
regard. Attorney-General Vahanvati has said that the Supreme Court
will appeal against the judgment before the Division Bench of the
Delhi High Court. The Supreme Court may well recall that an academic
book published in 2000 to mark the golden jubilee of the court was
titled “Supreme, but not infallible”.
bademiyansubhanallah
Of accountability to the people
V. VENKATESAN
Interview with Prashant Bhushan, convener of the Campaign for Judicial
Accountability and Reform.
R.V. MOORTHY
Prashant Bhushan, senior advocate of the Supreme Court.
THE Indian judiciary is considered the most powerful in the world by
many observers. In terms of standards of accountability, however, the
higher judiciary in India is viewed as the least accountable. The
August 26 resolution of the Supreme Court’s Full Court in favour of
disclosure of judges’ assets on the court’s website is a result of a
sustained campaign by various civil society groups and activists and
the sheer force of public opinion, which viewed with suspicion the
judiciary’s reluctance to disclose judges’ assets.
The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reform (CJAR) is one such
civil society initiative, which has from time to time brought together
on a common platform various grass-roots activist groups to seek
judicial accountability and to mobilise public opinion on the demand
for transparency in the functioning of the judiciary.
In this interview with Frontline, Prashant Bhushan, senior advocate of
the Supreme Court and convener of the CJAR, answers a range of
questions on the assets controversy and its impact. Excerpts:
The CJAR has won a major success with the Supreme Court’s decision to
place details of judges’ assets on its website. What explains this
success?
Well, initially this was not the major focus of our campaign. But we
began to campaign on this issue because it was related to Right to
Information (RTI). The RTI has already caught the public imagination.
We understood early on that the demand for disclosure of judges’
assets would also catch the public imagination.
It all started with an innocuous RTI application seeking to know
whether the judges were indeed filing their asset details with the
Chief Justice of India (CJI) in accordance with the 1997 Resolution.
Despite the August 26 decision of the Supreme Court’s Full Court, this
application has not yet been answered. What is the truth?
Nobody knows. The Supreme Court has been contesting this whole issue
right up to the High Court. The CJI has made it clear that the case
before the High Court has not become infructuous because the Central
Information Commission (CIC) has wrongly decided the case in favour of
the RTI applicant saying, ‘the CJI’s office is under the RTI’. The CJI
has held the view that his office handles sensitive information.
Sensitive information that can cause any kind of harm to the public
interest can always be withheld under one or two exemptions. But it is
an absurd proposition to say that because an office receives sensitive
information it is outside the ambit of the RTI. The Prime Minister’s
Office receives even more sensitive information. But the PMO is
clearly under the RTI.
Does the case before the Delhi High Court become infructuous following
the August 26 decision of the Supreme Court?
No. As you rightly said, the Supreme Court has not yet divulged any
information about whether the judges have been complying with the 1997
Resolution or the Code of Conduct. Secondly, this issue – whether
assets disclosure will be accessible under the RTI – still needs to be
decided. The Supreme Court has directly raised this issue saying,
‘today the RTI applicant wants to know whether there has been
compliance; tomorrow, they will ask for the actual assets disclosure’.
Therefore, this issue will have to be decided.
Now that details of judges’ assets will be on the Supreme Court’s
website, the question whether the RTI applicant will ask for asset
details does not arise.
We don’t know in what way this will be put on the website and whether
every judge will file it or not. We are also not sure whether the High
Courts will put it up on their websites. Therefore, this principle
needs to be decided.
Despite the resolution, can judges refuse to declare asset details on
the Supreme Court’s website?
Yes, they can.
Will the Bill that is sought to be introduced in the Rajya Sabha be
still relevant if the government agrees to delete the objectionable
clause barring public declaration of judges’ assets?
Of course. In fact, we have said that it should be a Bill not merely
for judges but for all public servants above a certain level. Today,
other civil servants are required to disclose assets to the
government, not to the public. Not merely assets, even income tax.
Unless you know the income statements, you can’t compare their assets
with their income to see whether the assets are disproportionate to
their known sources of income or not.
The view that income tax returns filed with the Income Tax Department
are exempt because they are personal incomes is certainly erroneous.
If the assumption is that personal information or information that
will cause unwarranted invasion of privacy has no relationship with
the public interest, it is clearly wrong. Even if income tax returns
can be considered to be personal information, certainly it is related
to the public interest. The public interest requires that people know
whether people are paying their taxes or not; whether their assets are
disproportionate to their known sources of income or not. Not merely
public servants but every citizen’s income tax return should be
available under the RTI Act.
How do you draw the line between unwarranted invasion of privacy and
the public interest?
There is no privacy about income tax. That is the public duty of every
citizen. In my view, any information required to be submitted by law
to a public authority cannot be considered personal information having
no relationship with the public interest. If there is no relationship
to the public interest, then there will not be a law requiring you to
submit information to a public authority. And it cannot be considered
an unwarranted invasion of privacy. If you have to submit information
to a public authority, what is the problem in declaring it to other
citizens? Whatever invasion of privacy has to take place has already
taken place when information is disclosed to a public authority.
The dialogue between you and Justice K. Kannan of the Punjab and
Haryana High Court, who also declared his assets unilaterally, was
interesting. One of the points made by Justice Kannan is that judges
are not politicians, who are accountable because they are elected.
What is your specific response to this.
The fact that you can choose politicians at least makes them
accountable to public opinion. The fact that you cannot choose judges
makes them unaccountable even to public opinion. Therefore, it is even
more important that judges have some accountability towards the
people. That is why the disclosure of their assets and income, to my
mind, is absolutely essential for their accountability to the people.
Justice Kannan has also said that if a litigant who is tried by a
judge for disproportionate assets points out that the judge trying him
also possessed disproportionate assets, it would compromise the
judge’s ability to decide that litigant’s case fearlessly.
My answer is that it should not compromise an honest judge’s ability.
Anybody whose assets are transparent and honest would not be deterred
by such scurrilous attacks. First, nobody would make such scurrilous
attacks because it amounts to defamation and contempt. But let us
assume that somebody does; why should an honest judge be affected by
that? Yes, it will compromise a dishonest judge’s ability to deal with
that case. That dishonest judge needs to be off the Bench. He will
cause a disaster in so many other cases. Therefore, the advantages of
having him exposed far outweigh the possible disadvantage of
compromising his ability to decide a case of a dishonest bureaucrat.
That argument is like saying that a judge should not at all be
accountable, because every accountability compromises the [judge’s]
independence to decide matters.
Supposing a judge is answerable to a judicial commission, to say that
it will compromise that judge’s ability to decide a matter involving a
member of that judicial commission is not a valid argument. For that
very small chance, you can’t leave the judges totally unaccountable.
Can you bring a comparative perspective to this controversy? Are other
countries equally concerned about ensuring judges’ accountability
through assets disclosure?
I think there are about a dozen countries, including the United States
and South Africa, where assets disclosure by judges is mandatory. In
the majority of the countries, it is still not mandatory, though
countries are gradually moving towards that. This whole issue of right
to information, transparency, disclosure of assets, and so on is all a
relatively new phenomenon. Since India has one of the progressive
Right To Information Acts in the world, we expect that even assets
disclosure in India should be available under it. That way, India is
perhaps the only country where the Supreme Court mandated the
disclosure of assets of candidates in elections. In line with all that
India should also be more progressive and take the lead in such
matters.
It has been reported that in their August 26 resolution the Supreme
Court judges have decided not to entertain questions on assets
disclosure.
I think it is fair enough. If somebody raises legitimate questions on
disproportionate assets, by getting access to income statements of
judges under the RTI Act, where the value of the assets declared is
much less than their market value at the time of their acquisition,
such questions can be examined by authorities like the Income Tax
Department or the CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation]. But the
judges themselves answering such questions may lead to harassment.
Are the income statements now available?
The income statements, right now, are not available. I am of the view
that they should be available under the RTI Act.
If answering such questions can lead to harassment, then what is the
very purpose of assets declaration? If you cannot question a judge
against whom there is prima facie evidence, the very purpose of assets
declaration is defeated.
If there is a legitimate basis, normally that judge should answer
that. Otherwise, the judge’s reputation will be at stake. Because
anybody will be free to publish such allegations. The judge may take
shelter under the resolution and refuse to answer the question, but
that will be at the risk of ruining his public image and at the risk
of being prosecuted under the Income Tax Act and the Prevention of
Corruption Act because he will be shown to possess assets
disproportionate to his income.
Is a watchdog body necessary to scrutinise the assets declaration?
Absolutely. There needs to be a national judicial complaints
commission to entertain complaints against judges, to investigate them
and take action. This commission should be independent of the
government and the judiciary.
The government is proposing a National Judicial Commission, which is
an in-house and ex-officio body. Judges are busy people and they
cannot sit on this commission. It has to be a full-time body that can
devote adequate time to these complaints. Besides, there are conflicts
of interest. If there is a complaint against a brother judge, how
could the judge on the commission decide a complaint if he is sitting
with him every day in and out of the court?
You have said that the judiciary acts like a class, rather like an
oligarchy.
In some respects, it does [act like a class]. Even on the assets
disclosure, the majority of the Supreme Court judges were against it.
It is the pressure of public opinion that has forced them to change
their minds. There are a few judges who are not opposed to assets
disclosure.
One important thing is the power of the Chief Justice of India.
Unfortunately, the CJI has begun to wield enormous powers, far
disproportionate to the fact that he is just a first among equals.
Giving extraordinary powers to the CJI alone in the matter of
appointments is not a healthy thing for the judiciary. Because it
makes other judges subservient.
Even if it is assumed that all judges in the Supreme Court’s collegium
(comprising the CJI and the senior-most judges) to select judges act
honestly, in the absence of a scientific, methodical system, the
present method of selection of judges through consultation with the
collegium may yield unfair and arbitrary results.
Following a system means preparing an eligibility list, having some
way of comparing the merits of the candidates in the list. In the
absence of such a system, the CJI names somebody, the No.2 judge in
the collegium names somebody else, the Law Minister may name somebody,
and that is how it goes. It is a free-for-all.
The time has come to put in place an independent judicial appointments
commission.
Even the fact that the CJI decides Benches is not the proper way of
dealing with court management. The CJI decides which case goes to
which judge. He is empowered to do so under the Supreme Court Rules.
Parliament can certainly limit his powers to decide Bench composition.
This overlordship of the Chief Justice in the courts has had a very
baneful effect.
There may be many other judges who share the view expressed by the
Karnataka High Court Judge Justice Shailendra Kumar [who wrote an
article in a newspaper urging disclosure of assets by judges]. But
they may be afraid to speak out openly. He was one judge who was not
afraid to speak out, despite whatever consequences that could be
visited upon him in terms of denial of promotion as the Chief
Justice.
Therefore, this court needs to be more democratised, and not so
heavily weighted towards the Chief Justice. Under the Code of Conduct,
it is the Chief Justice who will decide whether cognisance will be
taken on a complaint or not against a judge. Why should it be left to
just one person?
chhotemianinshallah
Apex court notice to Maharashtra on police chief appointment
September 14th, 2009 - 9:07 pm ICT by IANS -
New Delhi, Sep 14 (IANS) The Supreme Court Monday issued notice to the
Maharashtra government on a lawsuit challenging its appointment of
S.S. Virk as the state police chief despite his dubious service record
and a corruption case pending against him in Punjab.
A bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice P. Sathasivam
also issued notices to the central and Punjab governments on a lawsuit
by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, which also questioned
the Maharashtra government’s July 2009 decision to extend Virk’s
tenure by three months.
The CPIL lawsuit contended that Virk was appointed Maharahstra police
chief despite the fact that he is “facing two departmental proceedings
against him in the Punjab police for his series of misconducts
committed while on deputation there”.
“The Punjab government has also indicted him in a criminal-cum-
corruption case, which is pending in the trial court of Mohali,” said
the lawsuit.
Listing several acts of omission and commission by Virk, the former
Punjab police chief, senior counsel Prashant Bhushan in his lawsuit
said that “during his tenure on deputation in Punjab, Virk repeatedly
lied and concealed information in his annual property returns
submitted to the government and misused his official position and
flouted all rules and regulations to acquire assets.”
“He constructed and managed an illegal resort-cum-night club without
intimation to the government,” said Prashant Bhushan in his lawsuit,
adding that “Virk had opened about 35 bank accounts under fictitious
names in violation of the Reserve bank of India guidelines.”
“He also indulged in financial transactions of unaccounted black money
for the purpose of funding of elections,” he said.
chhotemianinshallah
S.S. Virk is new Maharashtra police chief (Lead)
March 14th, 2009 - 12:00 am ICT by IANS -
Mumbai, March 13 (IANS) Ending six months of suspense, the Maharashtra
government Friday evening appointed senior Indian Police Service (IPS)
officer S.S. Virk as the state’s director general of police.
Home Minister Jayant Patil made the announcement. Virk, an officer of
the 1970 batch, will replace A.N. Roy, whose appointment came under a
cloud after it was challenged before various legal authorities.
Patil said that following an order of the Bombay High Court, a high-
level committee was appointed for selecting the new DGP from among the
eligible officers and Virk was finally selected.
“His name had been sent to the state Chief Electoral Officer for
clearance after which the decision was taken,” Minister of State for
Home Naseem Khan told IANS shortly after the announcement.
Referring to certain allegations of corruption against the incoming
DGP by the Punjab government, Patil asserted that “all the charges
have been disproved”.
Patil also said that the Punjab government was unnecessarily pursuing
various matters against Virk, but his record had come out clean,
paving the way for his appointment.
Roy’s appointment in February 2008 was challenged in the Central
Administrative Tribunal (CAT) by another strong contender, Additional
DGP S. Chakravorty.
When the CAT ruled in Chakravorty’s favour, the state government
challenged that order in the Bombay High Court, where it lost the
case. The high court had given time to the state government to
announce the new DGP by March 14.
Virk, considered a daredevil officer, brings with him vast experience
in handling terrorism during his tenure with the Punjab Police and
also his services in Maharashtra in various capacities.
As he prepares to take over as DGP, Virk could create a new record -
of having served as police chief in two states - Punjab and
Maharashtra.
He also becomes the third Sikh officer to head the state police force.
Earlier, late Amarjit Singh Samra and P.S. Pasricha had occupied the
post.
During Operation Black Thunder in 1988 in Punjab, then a deputy
inspector general of police (DyIG), Virk had sustained a bullet injury
on his jaw from an AK-47 rifle while combating terrorists.
Unmindful of the injury, he said he was “fine” and asked his men to
continue firing and keep up the pressure on the extremists hiding in
the Golden Temple - which was relayed on the wireless.
chhotemianinshallah
Court orders removal of Maharashtra DGP, new chief in a month (Lead)
February 5th, 2009 - 7:18 pm ICT by IANS -
Mumbai, Feb 5 (IANS) In a major embarrassment for the Maharashtra
government, the Bombay High Court Thursday annulled the appointment of
Maharashtra Director General of Police (DGP) A.N. Roy as state police
chief and said the decision by then deputy chief minister R.R. Patil
reflected “non-application of mind”.Directing that a new police chief
be appointed within four weeks, a division bench comprising Chief
Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice A.S. Bobde criticised the
government over Roy’s appointment and said there should be
“objectivity and transparency’ to the appointments in such important
posts.
The high court order came almost four months after the Central
Administrative Tribunal (CAT) had nullified Roy’s appointment
following a complaint that he had superseded three other officers for
the post.
Roy’s appointment (on Feb 29, 2008) was challenged in September 2008
by his colleague Suprakash Chakravarthy, the DGP home guards and civil
defence. The CAT ruling had directed the state government to appoint a
new DGP within a month’s time.
The order was challenged by the state government in the Bombay High
Court, which has upheld the CAT order.
“This appointment needs to be made on merit and upon due and fair
consideration of the eligible persons in accordance with law. The
power (to appoint the DGP) ought not to be exercised arbitrarily or in
a colourable manner,” the judges observed.
The court went on to say that the state government had “failed to act
in accordance with law, and the entire decision making process and
decision has been taken with undue haste and not in conformity with
the accepted administrative norms”.
The judges also said that the decision of Patil, who was in-charge of
the home portfolio, reflected “non-application of mind” and the
process adopted as well as the final decision arrived at were “not in
conformity with law”.
The administration had taken “note of irrelevant considerations” while
ignoring the relevant parameters for appointment to the post of DGP,
the judgment stated.
“In fact, the process adopted by the state in the selection is opposed
to the basic doctrine of equality and there has been no appropriate
and effective consideration of the eligible officers by the competent
authority. No comparative merit is discussed; no plausible reason has
been stated for preferring the selected candidate over the candidates
ignored.”
The division bench pointed out that “higher the post, greater is the
responsibility” on the state administration “to make appointments with
greater caution, fairness and transparency”.
“Adopting a convenient and casual procedure for making appointment to
such a high post or acting entirely on the premise of absolute
discretion, unfounded on appropriate reason and unconnected with any
rationality would obviously render the action of the state as
arbitrary,” the judges said.
There were three other DGP ranked officers in the running for the top
post — Suprakash Chakravarthy (commandant general home guards and
civil defence), Sarbdeep Singh Virk and J.D. Virkar (DGP of the Anti-
Corruption Bureau).
“Virk has served the country to his own personal peril. Chakravarthy
also has an impeccable record and has successfully served three years
as DGP - police housing and DGP home guards and civil defence,”
Chakravarthy’s counsel R.R. Shetty told IANS.
chhotemianinshallah
Top Maharashtra police officer’s appointment struck down (Lead)
October 8th, 2008 - 6:02 pm ICT by IANS -
Mumbai, Oct 8 (IANS) The central administrative tribunal (CAT)
Wednesday quashed the appointment of Maharashtra Director-General of
Police (DGP) A.N. Roy following a complaint that he had superseded
three officers. The decision may come as a major embarrassment for the
state government, which had appointed him eight months ago.
Roy’s appointment had been challenged last month by his colleague S.
Chakraborthy, the DGP-Home Guards & Civil Defence, the latter’s
advocate R.R. Shetty told IANS.
Delivering the verdict Wednesday, CAT members Jog Singh and Sudhakar
Mishra also directed the state government to appoint a new DGP within
four weeks until which time Roy can continue in office.
Roy’s appointment to the top post in the state police force Feb 29
this year had kicked up a controversy.
Chakraborthy had contended that Roy was fourth in seniority and his
appointment as DGP unduly superseded S.S. Virk, Chakraborthy himself,
and J.D. Virkar.
The three had been promoted to DGP level at least one year before Roy
and they were at least two years senior to him in service.
In its reply to CAT, the state government had earlier stated that as
Roy was the most meritorious office in the state he was appointed to
the post.
But CAT directed that the new appointment must be made from among the
three other DGPs and Roy should not be considered for the top post,
Shetty said.
In his complaint, Chakraborthy had urged CAT to set aside Roy’s
appointment since it contravened the rules set out by the Supreme
Court in 2006 in the Prakash Singh case, which held that the state DGP
must be selected from the three seniormost officers.
When Roy was appointed as the state police chief, Virk, Chakraborthy
and Virkar were the seniormost serving Indian Police Service officers
in Maharashtra.
Chakraborthy pointed out that Maharashtra usually appointed its
seniormost officer as state DGP even if he was due for retirement in a
few months.
The other three top posts - DGP Anti-Corruption Bureau, DGP Police
Housing and DGP Home Guards & Civil Defence - are held by those next
in the seniority list.
Challenging the state’s contention that Roy was “the most meritorious
officer”, Chakraborthy said the other three DGPs had already undergone
three annual assessments and performance appraisals by which their
calibre as DGPs could be judged.
On the other hand, Roy had no annual assessment or performance
appraisal as he was appointed state DGP within a few months of being
promoted to the rank of DGP.
Chakraborthy pointed out that Virk was not only the seniormost officer
in the state police but also the most decorated. He was conferred the
Padma Shri civilian honour and was sent on deputation to Punjab during
more troubled times.
“Virk has served the country to his own personal peril. Chakraborthy
also has an impeccable record and has successfully served three years
as DGP-Police Housing and DGP-Home Guards & Civil Defence,” Shetty
explained.
Challenging Chakraborthy’s contentions, the state had countered that
at the time of his appointment that Roy was among the three seniormost
DGPs in the state as Virk had been placed under suspension from
service at that time.
However, Shetty said this was contrary to the state government’s stand
in the Supreme Court a year ago, during the hearing of a petition
filed by Virk.
In his petition before the apex court in 2007, the state had declared
that Virk’s services were not suspended, though the state had to keep
him in ‘compulsory waiting’ as all four posts of DGP in the state had
been duly filled up.
chhotemianinshallah
chhotemianinshallah
Renewed demand for action against Maharashtra top cop
December 27th, 2008 - 7:49 pm ICT by IANS -
Nagpur, Dec 27 (IANS) Opposition legislators in the Maharashtra
assembly Saturday gunned for state director general of police A.N. Roy
again - this time over a court directive to register an FIR (First
Information Report) against him. They stalled proceedings of the house
and forced an adjournment.Bharatiya Janata Party member Gopinath Munde
drew attention of the house to a directive issued by a Mumbai court
Friday to register an FIR against Roy and six other police personnel
for detaining social activist Raj Awasthi under Maharashtra Prevention
of Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act on the basis of forged documents in
early 2006.
Munde sought a special debate on the matter under Rule 293
(adjournment motion).
A member of National Alliance of People’s Movement (NAPM), Awasthi had
launched a crusade against irregularities in various government
schemes.
Suspecting foul play in his detention that came in the meanwhile, he
procured police records under the Right to Information Act. He found
that the documents, on the basis of which Roy - then Mumbai police
chief - sanctioned it, were forged.
While NAPM leader Medha Patkar challenged his detention in the Bombay
High Court, Awasthi himself lodged a complaint before the Bandra
Metropolitan magistrate who ordered registration of FIR against Roy,
then additional commissioner of police R.N. Tadvi, police inspector
Vilas Pawar and four others.
Munde, who was in the forefront of opposition members last week
demanding action against the DGP for dereliction of duty during the
26/11 terror-strike, reiterated his demand in the light of the new
development.
When the house resumed after a 15-minute adjournment, Speaker
Babasaheb Kupekar reserved ruling on Munde’s adjournment motion and
directed the government to make a statement on the issue Monday.
The DGP’s petition challenging a Central Administrative Tribunal
ruling holding his appointment illegal is before the Bombay High
Court.
Sid Harth
Advocates demand changes in judicial appointment process
September 16th, 2009 - 11:00 pm ICT by IANS -
New Delhi, Sep 16 (IANS) The Supreme Court Bar Association Wednesday
demanded the scraping of the present mode of appointment of the apex
court and high court judges, primarily on recommendations by a group
of senior most judges.
Seeking an end to the ‘collegium system’, the Supreme Court Bar
Association along with the Delhi High Court Bar Association asked the
government to amend the constitution to establish a national judicial
commission to carry out the task of judicial appointment.
The demand was raised in the wake of reports that Chief Justice of
India K.G. Balakrishnan has sought Karnataka High Court Chief Justice
P.D. Dinakaran’s explanation on a host of allegations of corruptions
against him.
Court sources said Chief Justice Dinakaran, who has denied the
allegations before Chief Justice Balakrishnan, has been recommended by
the apex court’s collegium of its three senior most judges for
elevation to the apex court.
“We request Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily to take immediate steps to
bring about a constitutional change to replace the present collegium
system by a properly constituted National Judicial Commission to
enable transparency and objectivity in selection of judges,” said
Supreme Court Bar Association president M.N. Krishnamani and Delhi
High Court Bar Association president K.C. Mittal in a joint
resolution.
“We also request the minister to disclose names of all the judges, who
have been recommended for appointment to various high courts or the
Supreme Court. This would ensure transparency and nip the chances of
appointment of the persons of doubtful integrity as judges,” the two
bar associations said.
bademiyansubhanallah
September 27, 2009
The Moving Finger Writes
Governance and need for transparency
By MV Kamath
Shouldn’t Judges of the High Court and Supreme Court declare their
assets and liabilities on a regular basis? For that matter, shouldn’t
anybody authorised to deliver justice from a sub-magistrate upwards be
accountable to the public? And if a sub-magistrate and others in the
lower courts automatically have to declare their assets, why shouldn’t
others at a higher level be equally treated?
The present controversy-now more or less resolved-is largely focused
on judges of the High Court and the Supreme Court. Those who dispense
law and justice are natural targets to corruption. In a democracy, the
law cannot-and should not-differentiate between categories of law
givers. In the world of justice dispensation, transparency is
everything. Where law is concerned all individuals are equal. There
cannot be exceptions. In the first place, the day a law-giver is
appointed to the post, the process of looking into the person’s assets
and liabilities must be strictly observed, year after year.
In the normal circumstances, many judges are recruited from the legal
profession. Lawyers who have made their fortunes often opt for
judgeships for reasons best known to them. Tradition must lay down
that the day they are appointed they become liable for an
investigation into their financial worth. As a well-known
educationist, BM Hegde once said, how does one expect a judge, who was
a lawyer the previous day change himself to fit his new clothes? Isn’t
it correct to have the same level playing ground for all citizens? How
can judges be considered more equal than the rest? Sadly, any law-
giver, at any level, these days is under observation. There was a
recent report of Transparency International-the global organisation to
lead an anti-corruption campaign-that corruption in the lower
judiciary in India is at high levels, computed by them at about Rs
25,000 crore per annum!
Some believe it is an under-statement. It is not the amount of under-
the-table harvest that matters. What matters is professional
cleanliness and that should be applicable from the lowest to the
highest dispenser of justice. It all started off in February this year
when the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reform (CJAR) issued
an Open Letter to Judges of all High Courts and the Supreme Court to
publicly declare their assets. It said: "By doing so, they would be
setting an example of transparency in the country which would then be
emulated by other public servants in the country. Such voluntary
disclosure of assets by Judges (without resort to Right of Information
Act) would be applauded as an act of statesmanship by the people of
this country, at a time when people have become cynical about the
integrity of public servants. It would greatly advance the cause of
transparency and probity in public life, which is the basis of the
Supreme Court judgments". Why wasn’t this an issue right from the
start of Independence?
The idea probably never occurred to anyone. It was generally accepted
that the judiciary was above board. In a sense, it was a reflection of
a colonial mind-set when the Supreme Court had a British component.
Unhappily the judiciary in recent times has lost some of its past
aura. But consider the situation in the United States. The US congress
enacted the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 which requires detailed
financial disclosure by high level employees in all three branches of
the Federal Governments. This federal legislation is complemented by a
host of financial disclosure laws at both the state and local levels.
The Ethics Act requires annual disclosure of financial information by
the President, Vice President, Members of Congress, Federal Judges,
Presidential appointees and other officials and employees earning at
or above a specific payscale of with policy-making responsibilities.
According to available information, the required disclosures include
the nature, source and amount of income, gifts and re-imbursements,
assets and liabilities and transactions in real property and
Securities. That is only fair. Even a law-giver at the lowest level
should be expected to declare his assets and liabilities And this
should be true of those who are getting appointed to the Indian
Administrative Service as well. The usual custom-unless the
presumption is wrong-is that the recruits are chosen strictly on
merit. If in any particular year, the IAS requires, say, fifty new
entrants, it is the top fifty (with due recognition of the status of
SC/ST candidates) who rank in the conducted examination who will be
enlisted.
What one wants to know is whether their antecedents are looked into.
What are parents? And they economically secure or are they struggling
in debts? Shouldn’t that be taken into consideration? The most
damaging comment on the probity of IAS officers is one made by TSR.
Subramanian in his path-breaking book GovernMint in India. Mind the
word:GovernMint. It is self-explanatory. Subramanian, incidentally,
talks with authority. He himself is a retired IAS Officer from the UP
cadre and was Chief Secretary of the State and rose to the highest
Civil Service position in the country: that of Cabinet Secretary and
worked under three Prime Ministers in that capacity. His remarks on
civil servants, the police et al are very disturbing. He refers to the
"steep fall in standards of probity and integrity among the high civil
service" and adds "it may not be possible to dispute this with any
conviction". His comments on the judiciary are equally shocking. Says
he: "Like nearly every process and system in our democracy, the
judicial process is also heavily tilted in favour of the rich.
Thus, in case after case, the richer protagonist has the stamina to
fight a long-drawn battle over decades-his poor adversary gets knocked
our fairly early in the process. These are expensive games played by
the latter community under the direct eye of the honorable court-and
at the expense of the poor litigant". As Subramanian put it: "The
Constitution does not merely demand a ‘fair trial’ or ‘due process’;
it enjoins the judiciary to ensure that ‘justice’ in all that implies,
is provided to the citizen". That statement carries its own
implications. The point is that judges come under suspicion even when
a case is postponed. Corruption has many faces and that is why law
givers have to be extra-careful in every little action they take, even
with the best of motives and within legal rights. Honesty and Probity
are not just virtues: They are the standards by which the judiciary is
judged, as is the nation itself. To uphold them is to enhance the
dignity and reputation of India for all times to come.
chhotemianinshallah
'Initiate An Enquiry'
Forum for Judicial Accountability writes again to the CJI and the SC
colleguium, providing additional details as to why "a judge who has
grabbed public property and has compromised public interest" should
not be appointed to the SC
Forum for Judicial Accountability
17th September 2009
Hon’ble Mr.Justice K.G. Balakrishnan
The Chief Justice of India
Hon’ble Mr.Justice B.N. Agarwal
Hon’ble Mr.Justice S.H. Kapadia
Hon’ble Mr.Justice Tarun Chatterjee
Hon’ble Mr. Justice Altamas Kabir
Supreme Court of India,
New Delhi.
Sir,
Sub: Further particulars with supporting materials Regarding Mr.
Justice P.D. Dinakaran, Chief Justice of Karnataka.
Ref:Our earlier representation dated 9.9.2009.
We are forwarding further materials that we have received regarding
Mr.Justice P.D. Dinakaran’s assets and his rather unusual judicial
orders.
I. ASSETS & LAND GRABBING
A. Lands at Kaverirajapuram village.
More than 300 acres of land owned by the Judge and his family; partly
held in his individual name and that of his wife and two daughters and
by the following private companies. Enclosed within these fenced
properties are nearly 150 acres of Government and village common land
meant for community use.
•All the Companies were incorporated on 23.08.2001, after Mr.
P.D.Dinakaran was appointed as judge of the Madras High Court.
•Annual Returns of all 4 companies state that all shareholdings are
held by the Directors and their relatives.
Company
Some Directors:
Dear Lands Pvt. Ltd.,
Kaverirajapuram village,
Tiruttani Taluk, Thiruvallur Dist. 1. Dr. K.M. Vinodhini, wife of Mr.
Justice P.D.Dinakaran
2. Mr. J. Williams (reported to be Mr. Justice P.D. Dinakaran’s sister
husband)
Amudham Gardens (P) Ltd.
Kaverirajapuram village,
Tiruttani Taluk,
Thiruvallur Dist. 2. Mr. J. Williams (mentioned as above)
3. Ms. Amudha Dinakaran, Daughter of Mr. Justice P.D.Dinakaran
Amirtham Gardens (P) Ltd.
Kaverirajapuram village,
Tiruttani Taluk,
Thiruvallur Dist.
1. Dr. K.M. Vinodhini, wife of Mr. Justice P.D.Dinakaran
2. Mr. J. Williams (mentioned as above)
3. Dr. Kingsley Alfred Chandrasekaran (Brother of Mr. Justice
P.D.Dinakaran)
4. Mrs. D.A.P. Kamalakumari Kingsley
(Son-in-law of Mr. Justice P.D.Dinakaran)
Canaan Gardens Pvt. Ltd.
Kaverirajapuram village,
Tiruttani Taluk,
Thiruvallur Dist. 1. Ms. Amudha Dinakaran, Daughter of Mr. Justice
P.D.Dinakaran
2. Mr.J.Williams (as mentioned above)
B. Urban Properties:
1. Another property at Shenoy Nagar, Chennai was owned by Justice
P.D.Dinakaran. He settled the same in his wife Dr.Vinodhini’s name in
2001-2002. It is learnt that a loan of Rs.7 lakhs was taken by
Dr.Vinodhini in 2002 from Corporation Bank, Anna Nagar, Chennai but
was closed in 2004. In the last two years, a huge commercial complex
has been built (photo enclosed – Annexure 6). Mr. Justice
P.D.Dinakaran was seen frequently supervising the construction.
Recent estimates indicate that the cost of construction would be not
less Rs.2.5 crores.
2. Justice P.D.Dinakaran acquired a residential plot of 4800 sq. ft.
at J-81, Anna Nagar East, Chennai during 2005-2006 for a total cost of
Rs.90,50,040 lakhs. The property stands in the joint names of the
Judge and his wife Dr.K.M.Vinodini, as per the Certificate of
Encumbrance on Property (Annexure 7).
Construction of a building with two floors and above is on. By any
modest estimate, the cost of construction would so far would have been
more than Rs.25 lakhs.
C. Other Properties:
There are strong reports of possession of extensive lands in other
districts of Tamilnadu including the Nilgiris hills. This may be
enquired into.
II. Inappropriate Judicial Orders Pointing to Bias & Corruption
A. In Madras High Court:
The unusual order passed by Mr. Justice P.D.Dinakaran in (279 ITR page
61) has already been referred to by us. Mr. Justice P.D.Dinakaran had
allowed the Writ Petition, challenging the notice to reopen assessment
falsely stating that a concession was made by the Counsel for Income
Tax Department. His judgment has now been reversed by an Order dated
22.7.2009 in W.A.No. 766 and 771 of 2005 by the Division Bench
presided by Mr. Justice Ibrahim Kalifullah. Relevant facts:
a). The I.T. Department issued notice to reopen assessment made on the
basis of a complaint given by SEBI, regarding ‘insider trading’,
alleging that the assessees had actually sold the shares to benamis at
Rs.800/- per share and within one month thereafter, they sold the
shares for Rs.5000 per share, who thereafter remitted the entire
proceeds to the assessees. It was thus clear that it was not a simple
case of long term capital gain and that income escaped assessment to
be taxed as short-term capital gain. The price of the shares sold was
to the tune of Rs. 22,53,17,050/- resulting in huge escapement of
income chargeable to tax.
b). Writ Petition Nos. 10607, 10608 and 10628 to 10631 of 2005 were
listed for admission on 31.3.2005 before Mr. Justice P.D. Dinakaran.
c). No prior notice was issued to the Income Tax Department, since in
Madras High Court, Writ Petitions are listed for admission exparte.
d). The Madras High Court cause list of that date is enclosed, wherein
only the name of Counsel for the Petitioner is printed (Items 45- 47).
e). Yet Mr. Justice P.D.Dinakaran strangely recorded that Counsel for
the Income Tax Department ‘conceded’ that the impugned orders had been
wrongly passed, even as the said counsel who happened to be present in
the Court took notice.
f) At the admission stage itself, the Writ Petitions were allowed and
Writ of Certiorari issued.
g) Judgment dated 31.3.2005 of Mr. Justice P.D.Dinakaran does not
disclose the facts of the case, viz., the order of the Income Tax
Department was based on the complaint by SEBI, instead merely sets out
legal provisions and suddenly says:
“18. Mrs. Pushya Seetharaman, Learned Counsel taking notice on behalf
of the respondent, fairly concedes that the objections of the
Petitioners ……….. were not considered
19. Learned Counsel for the respondent also concedes that the
respondent committed an error apparent on the face of the record.”
h) Writ Appeal Nos. 766 to 771 of 2005 were filed by the Income Tax
Department with an affidavit of the Deputy Commissioner of Tax stating
“the Writ Petition was allowed at the stage of admission itself
without giving the Department an opportunity to file counter or
present its argument in detail. We have verified this with our
Standing Counsel and she says that she did not concede the matter.”
The Writ Appeals stand allowed now by order dt. 22.07.2009.
Extracts from the Madras High Court causelist dt.31.03.2005, the
judgment reported in 279 ITR 61, the Grounds of Appeal and the
Affidavit filed by the Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax are filed as
Annexures 8 – 11.
B. In Karnataka High Court
i) Cases relating to Vinod Goel
-- W.P. 8094 of 2009 Vinod Goel representing Jantakal Enterprises
filed a Writ petition to lift and transport 1,17,800 (one lakh
seventeen thousand and eight hundred) metric tonnes of iron ore which
according to him was mined in the year 1985.
1985 Vinod Goel’s mining lease expired. According to him he obtained
extension of lease.
1993 The mining area was declared a ‘reserved forest area’ and hence
clearance under the Forest Conservation Act was mandatory.
1996 Accordingly he applied for clearance.
2008 Correspondence for clearance still continued.
2009 Vinod Goel asserted that minerals mined by him during 1965-85
were not cleared because there was no market for iron ore of grades
less than 62% and 63%. The said mined mineral to the extent of
1,25,000 metric tones was lying in the dump for 24 years. He wanted
permission to lift the material in 2009 as there was now a market for
it. Since the ore was mined prior to 1985, the Forest Department could
have no objection for the same.
02.03.2009 Chief Justice P.D.Dinakaran allowed the Writ Petition by
order dated 02.03.2009 permitting the said Vinod Goel to lift and
transport 1,17,800 metric tones of iron ore from forest land.
ii) Order contrary to earlier order
In W.P. No. 12028 of 2008, the Petitioner M/s Jothi Brothers was
granted mining lease in Forest Land mistakenly treating it as Revenue
land. The Division Bench comprising of Chief Justice P.D.Dinakaran and
Justice V.G.Sabahit held that such mining lease was invalid and that
there was collusion between the mining lessee and government officials
to treat forest land as revenue land and obtain mining lease. The
court not only directed an enquiry but also directed that damages have
to be collected from the mining lessee.
However, in W.P.No.12028 of 2008, in an identical fact situation Vinod
Goel obtained a very curious order.
A PIL was filed for cancellation of mining lease in S.N0.97 of
Rajathadipura Forest Area in Tunkur District originally granted to one
B.D. Hanuman Singh and subsequently transferred to Vinod Goel. The
mining site was declared as a Forest in the year 1939 itself. As per
Sec.2 of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 no forest land can be
diverted for non-forest use without the prior approval of the Ministry
of Environment and Forest, Government of India. However the State
Government granted mining lease treating it as revenue land and not
forest land.
But in this case the very same Division Bench headed by Chief Justice
P.D. Dinakaran directed Vinod Goel to give a representation to the
State Government for grant of alternate land to an extent of 71.20
acres and directed the government to consider the representation and
accord preference to the said Vinod Goel over other mining lease
applications.
iii) Constituting a Full Bench to overrule a Div. Bench order when
Supreme Court was considering validity of Div. Bench’s order
1992 Several persons filed application for grant of mining lease from
the State of Karnataka.
17.02.2003 Even as these applications were pending, the State of
Karnataka issued a notification dated 17.02.2003 de-reserving all
lands earlier reserved by it in the year 1958 under the Mines &
Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act, 1957.
15.03.2003 Notification calling for application from the general
public.
-- Writ petition Nos.18445 of 2003 & batch were filed challenging the
notification dated 15.03.2003 on the ground that the application for
mining leases were not considered by the Government on the wrong
presumption that they were reserved, though the Act has no provision
for reservation. They objected to the fact that applications of
persons who applied pursuant to the notification dated 15.03.2009 were
being processed and given precedence over their applications which
were pending since 1992.
27.11.2006 Single Judge allowed Writ Petitions directing that
applications should be considered as per the date of application and
applications given pursuant to notification dated 15.03.2003 will be
considered thereafter.
12.03.2009 Division Bench confirmed the order of Single Judge and the
Writ Appeal Nos.850 and 1353 of 2007 were dismissed.
-- In Supreme Court SLP Nos. 12100-12101 of 2009 were filed against
the Division Bench order. Notice was issued but stay of operation of
the order dated 12.03.2009 refused. SLP is still pending.
-- Other writ appeals which were filed against Single Judge’s Order
were posted for admission. When these Writ Appeals came up for
admission before a Division Bench consisting Chief Justice
P.D.Dinakaran and Justice V.G.Sabahit, the Court was informed that the
Writ Appeals were covered by the order dated 12.03.09 in W.A. No.850
of 2007 and Batch. The Court was also informed that the State
Government did not file SLPs against the order and the SLPs filed by
private parties were pending.
-- Chief Justice P.D. Dinakaran, however, referred the writ appeals to
a Full Bench. He thereafter constituted a Full Bench headed by
himself.
28.08.2009 The Full Bench overruled the order dated 12.03.2009 of the
Division Bench in W.A.No.850 and 1353 of 2007 and held the applicants
who filed applications prior to 15.03.2003 will be treated as having
filed the applications on 15.03.2003 and could claim no priority.
The merits of the individual writ petitions were to be decided by the
Division Bench.
28.08.2009 Same day, after the Full Bench order was pronounced, Chief
Justice P.D. Dinakaran listed the entire batch before a Division Bench
presided over by him and dismissed the entire batch.
It is learnt that the copy of the Full Bench Order and the Division
Bench Order are yet to be received.
By this unusual procedure, Chief Justice P.D.Dinakaran through the
Full Bench overruled the Division Bench’s decision, even as the
latter’s correctness was being considered by the Supreme Court.
There are strong rumours that by this unusual process, a few business
groups have been hugely benefitted.
Some of the judgments of the Karnataka High Court referred above are
enclosed as Annexures – 12 to 14.
There is a spate of information that is pouring into our Forum
alleging corrupt practices both moral and economic by Chief Justice
P.D.Dinakaran. However, we have desisted from listing all of them
without verifying their credibility. But we do feel that the
reputation of Chief Justice P.D.Dinakaran definitely does not make him
worthy of consideration for appointment to the Supreme Court and his
addition will only diminish the image of the great institution.
The Supreme Court enjoys its powers because of the immense faith
reposed by our people. Their confidence will be rudely shaken if a
judge who has grabbed public property and has compromised public
interest will be appointed to the Supreme Court.
We therefore request you not to appoint Mr.Justice P.D.Dinakaran to
the Supreme Court of India and to initiate an enquiry into his
conduct.
Yours faithfully,
FORUM FOR JUDICIAL ACCOUNTABILITY
Room No.2, I Floor,
45 Armenian Street,
Chennai-600 001
Sep 24, 2009 01:42 PM
16 A:
I do understand your 'citizenship' logic. The chr and mosl, who agreed
to become 'citizens' of india on indep day, do reserve the right to
'practice' their relig proliferatively to eventually dominate and
destroy the others, also, in due course.
Theoritically, you are right. But, the spiritual power which brought
the brits to contain the moghuls and the freedom wave to send them
off, will also ensure that your plans will not succeed, either in
india or in europe also. perhaps aarya-varta and aarya-paaScima will
join together to terminate the un-aaryan anarchists, with God's help
and blessings. May His will be done!
v.seshadri
chennai, india
Sep 24, 2009 01:40 PM
15 ANWAR,(to Seshadri),
Its only the communists that pose as liberals in India.You will find
both Hindus and a few Muslims in the left camp.Sanghis even if you
allege them as communal is tolerable but not when called as anti
nationals.But your Jihadi brothers for whom you are on this forum
sympathisng with them ,trying to defend them but are known to be
upright anti national as they conspire with the enemy country to
create trouble here.The so called moderates and secular's are none but
pseudo secular's as they are biased and partisan vested interests.For
them what happened at Godhra is a non issue while what happened at
Gujarat is a hot issue.Is this secularism,liberalism and moderation.
vijay
Bangalore, India
Sep 24, 2009 01:32 PM
14 A:>>"hate against 150 million Indian citizens"
no hate, only concern for the guest-camel in the tent growing twice as
fast as the host-arab, claiming the first right on the nation's
resources, no duties at all as 'citizens' of the nation, refusing even
to say 'vande maataram' to the nation, vande only to mecca, despising
those who say it anti-nationals for the mecca-country called
caliphate! if such people are included in defence forces or crucial
industries, the very existence of the nation may be compromised. The
socalled liberals need to wake up, really, before it becomes too late.
v.seshadri
chennai, india
Sep 24, 2009 12:51 PM
13 Seshadri,
>> I am certainly an anti-national.
Yes, because of your divisionism, and spreading hate against 150
million Indian citizens, on flimsy and arbitrary grounds.
>> the jaichand, jaswant, types.
Freely giving out such derogatory labels to progressive and secular
Indians shows your anti-national tendencies.
Anwaar
Dallas, United States
Sep 24, 2009 12:31 PM
12 A:>>"anti-nationals like you"
I am certainly an anti-national, if the nation you have in mind is
india as an islamic caliphate or papian christendom.
>>", but I respect moderate, secular and liberal Hindus and Muslim".
yes, the jaichand, jaswant, types who will sell their motherland for a
few bucks. Have a nice deal with them.
v.seshadri
chennai, india
Sep 24, 2009 11:59 AM
11 Seshadri,
>> always despise the islamists as mullahs and hindu nationalists as sanghis....
I have no respect for Islamist mullahs or sanghi anti-nationals like
you, but I respect moderate, secular and liberal Hindus and Muslims.
Anwaar
Dallas, United States
Sep 24, 2009 09:15 AM
10 A:>>"my posts must be very confusing".
no longer. while you always despise the islamists as mullahs and hindu
nationalists as sanghis, you have no criticism at all for the church-
driven concersionist missionaries.
you are entitled to your views, of course. we have no rights or needs
for discussing them at length.
v.seshadri
chennai, india
Sep 24, 2009 12:34 AM
9 Seshadri,
>> it is strange to see anwaar coming to the defence of the crooked church-folk criticized by me, in a post addressed to you. Clearly, he is the missionary in disguize.
I have also spoken up for Hindus in Malaysia. Does that mean I am a
Hindu in disguise? I have supported Dalai Lama's cause of Tibetan
autonomy. Does that mean I am a Buddhist? For someone like you who
spends all day in offending and despising others, my posts must be
very confusing.
Anwaar
Dallas, United States
Sep 23, 2009 12:59 PM
8 K:
it is strange to see anwaar coming to the defence of the crooked
church-folk criticized by me, in a post addressed to you. Clearly, he
is the missionary in disguize. perhaps, your are a genuine non-theist,
seeking the highest truths only. if so, you can find some satisfaction
in sankara's and vivekananda's advaita-vedanta. read the viveka-
cooDaamani, in case you know sanskrit.
kumar is name for skanda only. kalidaasa has described skanda's story
in 'kumaara-sambhava'. lots of crypto-chr tend to have name kumar,
subramani, velu-pillai [prabhaakaran's dad], also, unknowingly paying
homage to skanda who is the spiritual in-liver in jesus Himself. I
thought you are also one such. the crypto- chr bldg contracter, who
led the innocent aacharya of kanchi down the dark trail to a deepavali
jailing by JJ, was known as 'ravi subramaniam' only! there was also a
'subramaniam' in the death-helicopter along with ysr. ! skanda can be
very harsh on those who misuse His name, altho He is, basically, only
the gjnaana-devataa in the gjnnana-yoga aspects of hinduism and
christianity, also.
it is a pity that missionary-minded christians try to deceiptfully
take sanskrit names of reverence for hindus, for themselves and their
scriptures and shrines, especially in the south. jesus is called
iSwar; bible the veda; church, the deva-aalaya; a virulent anti-hindu
girl takes the name of arundhati, revered wife of sage vasishTa, and
so on. Jesus, now that the law-of-karma is being imposed on the
abrahamics also, will surely punish them micro-correctly, as He has
strarted, in the case of the 'injustice'-dinakaran!
incidentally, most moslems in india are of the opposite types, highly
honest in giving moslem names only, even to those hindus who convert
for polygamic privileges only. Actually many moslem names really make
real spiritual sense on sanskritizn. mohammed = mahaamati = great
mind; quran = khud-aaneeta-saama = saama veda wisdom voluntarily given
to nabhi=ravan, by gabriel = naarada; na, ayam, bheetah = non-afraid =
nabhi; eka-bhaah = akbhar, only source of all knowledge. alla = hara =
Siva' hence only: allah ho akbhar!
it would be realy good, if good and sincerely nationalist indian
moslems do sanskritize their names, instead of the crooked
missionaries of the anwar, arundhati type. if omar calls himself amar,
or salman as solomon = saalya-maanya [praise-worthy in self-esteem]; ,
sharook as Saa-ruka, SaaTyam rokayati, stopper of evil; as in case of
barrack obama = varaga-upamah = 'better-fare-seeker for all,
exemplary'!.
Alla = Siva = Christ will surely bless all the good moslems, hindus
and non-missionary chr of the world. But, skanda = jesus will punish
the crooked missionary type collecting land and money for bishop-
welfare only!
v.seshadri
chennai, india
Sep 23, 2009 10:12 AM
7 Among the many imponderables that have escaped scrutiny in the
Indian judiciary, is corruption of the highest ( absulote power
corrupts absolutely ) order.
But there are many ( many many ) more imponderables, that are Not
under media scrutiny. For eg.,
1. The media wants to protect the judicial sins, in the false
impression that it is 'improving its credibility'. It will hence not
publicise questionable judgements.
2. The judiciary is NOT all that learnED, as the public is lead to
imagine - neither in the fields that they judge on, NOR even in their
own 'legal' field.
3. Lawyers, like the rest of the judiciary have a vested interest in
prolonging the agony of the litigants and defendants, since this
brings them more money. It takes minimum 17 years to get a divorce
( for a male) !
4. The judiciary is the only body that takes a whole summer off -
inspite of the enormous backlog of cases
5. The judiciary is UNACCOUNTABLE. And a corrupt political system is
hardly the right body to set things right , in a system of 'You
scratch My back; I scratch Yours!' The judiciary is protected against
any questioning, by laws.
6. The judiciary, like the police and the media is ANDROPHOBIC. Even
when it is obvious that the arrests are a harassment, based on
falsehoods, or encounters are false, the judicial system, backed by an
misled media, turns a blind eye.
Even taking the problem of corruption alone, Justice Dinakaran is one
of the RARE ones to have fallen on the wrong side of the mainstream
media. Most judges own vast properties and 'unaccounted' wealth even
by the time they are junior judges!
Justice Dinakaran is just the tip of the corruption iceberg.
Partha persistent spammer
chennai, India
Sep 23, 2009 02:14 AM
6 Seshadri,
>> it is pity that the crooked christians in the country bring disgrace to the sun-god 'soorya-naarayaNa' by giving themselves names after Him: dinakaran, ltte prabhaakaran, ravi ....
What a stupid and hateful post!
Anwaar
Dallas, United States
Sep 22, 2009 07:38 PM
5 K:
it is pity that the crooked christians in the country bring disgrace
to the sun-god 'soorya-naarayaNa' by giving themselves names after
Him: dinakaran, ltte prabhaakaran, ravi, prakash, soorya etc. varghese
= vaara-ka-eeSa, day-maker god = sun, only. In germany, chtristmas is
called sonnen-wnde, turn of the sun, the date following the turn of
the sun northwrds after reaching the southmost on 23rd dec each yr.
There is a tradition that christ-worship substituted sun-worship in
europe. Italy = aadityaalaya. Rome = raama-puri only, raama was born
in soorya-vamSa only. It is funny that you chriistians consider hindus
despisively as 'pagans' !.
when I was in germany, I noticed in the cllendar there that the half-
moon day we call krishNashTami isc marked out as the date for the
'ascent of mary', cosmomom going up! well, on krisnashTami ngt,
cosmomom born asc dtr to yasoda was brought to kamsa's prison in
exchange for babe-Kr born to devaki. when, kama tries to kill the
cosmo-mom baby, She simply ascends into heaven, telling him Kr born is
elsewhere to kill him soon!. So, mary mom of christ is sister maaya of
krishNa in hinduism, only! but, for you, hindus are only despicable
pagans, with no higher values for highrst truth etc.! you are welcome
to your views, of course.
v.seshadri
chennai, india
Sep 22, 2009 07:16 PM
4 K:
Perhaps, this dinakaran and his christian family are related to the
late evangelist dinakaran and his son, probably, running the kaaruNya
unstitute in coimbatore. The CJI may take action to stall his
promotion to the supreme court. but, sonia-raj is only likely to
support him only.
Anyway, this development seems to be one more event, to sustain my
feelings that the law of karma is nowadays applicable to christians
also. May God's will be done!
v.seshadri
chennai, india
Sep 22, 2009 06:57 PM
3 Sounds like the best profession to mint money. Even corrupt
politicians have to fight elections, and stay only for five years even
of they win!
Partha persistent spammer
chennai, India
Sep 21, 2009 10:07 AM
2 Nice humorous ending:
"The Supreme Court enjoys its powers because of the immense faith
reposed by our people. "
Another thing that the higher judiciary has made joke of itself is PIL
(Public Interest Litigation). Correct name should be Political
Interest Litigation. There are so many that I am wondering when they
get time to do what they are paid for - delivering justice.
Politicking is so appealing that even their corrupt ways have no
match.
Rajesh
Phoenix, United States
Sep 18, 2009 08:15 PM
1 What does it really say about the system of appointing and
monitoring judges that it took so many years for this to light and
that too, when the guy is on the verge of getting admitted to the
highest court of the land!! Courts do not manufacture justice, they
just dispense them. Judiciary is supposed to check the excesses of
executive and that is actually the only peaceful option for a law
abiding citizen in a democracy. After that, the only recourse left is
agitation and eventually armed resistance. Justice and morality are
ingrained in human psyche. If the system does not deliver them, the
system discredits itself as it is based on faith and morality and not,
as some think, on brute force. If it loses these, people will search
for other options.
Coming back to immediate question at hand, was the Supreme court
really in a coma all these years. It is passing judgments on executive
but it cannot keep tab on its own higher judiciary, much less the
lower judiciary where reports of corruption are now endemic. This is
the last stage of the cancer in a nation’s life when the judiciary
itself start to get infected. After this, only deluge.
tejinder
st louis, United States
chhotemianinshallah
'Issues Of Deep Concern'
Full text of the controversial representation against Mr. Justice
P.D.Dinakaran, Chief Justice, Karnataka High Court, making serious
allegations of "amassing of huge assets, corruption and serious
irregularities".
Forum for Judicial Accountability PRINT SHARE COMMENTS
Senior public interest lawyer Prashant Bhushan had pointed out in his
article posted on the website yesterday:
Five new judges have been recommended for appointment to the Supreme
Court. Again, as always, the process of selection has been done
without any transparency. Though some of the judges nominated enjoy
excellent reputations, some others do not. One does not know how and
on what basis the selection has been made. The least that needs to be
done in this context is to publish their asset declarations at least
some time before the appointments are notified. That is the minimum
that the people of the country deserve. It is indeed their fundamental
right, declared by the Supreme Court itself.
Out of these five, one of the judges happens to be Mr. Justice
P.D.Dinakaran, Chief Justice, Karnataka High Court, against whom
Chennai-based Forum for Judicial Accountability, comprising of members
of the Bar of the Madras High Court, had recently made a
representation alleging "amassing of huge assets, corruption and
serious irregularities".
Mr. Justice P.D.Dinakaran, Chief Justice, Karnataka High Court was a
Judge of the Madras High Court between 19.12.1996 to 06.08.2008.
It is on the basis of this representation that some of the legal
luminaries of the country, viz. F S Nariman, Shanti Bhushan, Ashok
Desai and Ram Jethmalani met the CJI and suggested to him that he
should reconsider the decision to elevate the judge to the Supreme
Court.
As the Hindu reported today, the CJI had "summoned Justice Dinakaran
to Delhi" and that "[i]n the meeting that took place on September 11
at the residence of the CJI, in which some senior Supreme Court judges
participated, Justice Dinakaran was confronted with the allegations
made in the lawyers’ complaint. It was understood that he gave his
explanation, denying each of the allegations. He left for Bangalore on
Saturday morning."
Given the recent controversy and debate over the issue of asset
disclosure by judges, these charges assume serious significance. As
does their timing. Why now, when his name has been recommended for
appointment to the Supreme Court? Is it a motivated campaign against
the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, just to prevent his
elevation to the Supreme Court? Conversely, if these charges are
serious enough to make him unsuitable for the Supreme Court, should he
be allowed to continue as a judge, leave alone as the chief justice of
Karnataka High Court?
Which is why the senior lawyers of the country have intervened and
written to President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
seeking their intervention and calling for a probe into the
allegations before notifying the appointment of Justice Dinakaran to
the Supreme Court:
“You will agree that the consequences will be far more serious if a
person lacking integrity is appointed as a Supreme Court Judge than
delaying the appointment of a person against whom the charges may not
be eventually established.”
Having obtained a copy of the representation made by the Forum for
Judicial Accountability to the Chief Justice of India, and considering
it to be in public interest, we are publishing it here in full.
***
From
Forum for Judicial Accountability
Room No 2, I Floor,
45 Armenian Street,
Chennai - 600001
9th September, 2009
To
Hon’ble Mr.Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, The Chief Justice of India,
Hon’ble Mr.Justice B.N. Agarwal,
Hon’ble Mr. Justice S.H. Kapadia,
Hon’ble Mr.Justice Tarun Chatterjee,
Hon’ble Mr. Justice Altamas Kabir,
Supreme Court of India,
New Delhi.
Sirs,
Sub: Representation against Mr. Justice P.D.Dinakaran, Chief Justice,
Karnataka High Court -- amassing of huge assets, corruption and
serious irregularities.
As per newspaper reports (Hindu, dated 28th August 2009) Mr. Justice
P.D. Dinakaran, presently Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court,
has been recommended by the collegium of the Supreme Court to be
appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court.
The said Judge was a Judge of the Madras High Court between 19.12.1996
to 06.08.2008. We, the members of the Bar of the Madras High Court are
greatly perturbed by the news of his possible elevation to the Apex
Court, in view of disturbing reports that are strong pointers to abuse
of office and lack of probity by Mr. Justice P.D. Dinakaran.
We bring to your notice several aspects concerning the Judge including
(1) huge rural land holdings, illegal appropriation of Government and
public land amounting to land-grabbing, illegal constructions,
ownership of urban properties, (2) certain inappropriate and startling
judicial orders and (3) conduct raising issues of gross impropriety
and lack of probity. We feel the materials given below call for a
detailed investigation before taking up his case for appointment as a
Judge of the highest Court.
The following are the issues of deep concern:
I. Amassing Wealth and Appropriation of Public Property
RURAL PROPERTY
It is common knowledge in the Bar at Madras that the Judge has
acquired vast extents of lands, near his hometown of Arakkonam,
Vellore District and in Tiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu. The
acquisition started before his appointment as a judge of the Madras
High Court and is reported to have increased manifold during his
tenure as a judge.
All these land holdings in the villages are beyond the ceiling limit
under the Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Act,
1961, as per which a family of five persons can possess not more than
15 standard acres of land.
However, more shocking is the unbecoming conduct of the judge in
encroaching upon Government lands and public property meant for the
villagers, amounting to land-grabbing and depriving the poor of their
resources and livelihood.
1. LANDS IN KAVERIRAJAPURAM VILLAGE (440 Acres)
(a) In the villages of Kaverirajapuram, Tiruttani Taluk, Tiruvallur
District, Anaipakkam, Arakkonam Taluk, Vellore District and Mulvoy,
Arakknonam Taluk, Vellore District, the extent of lands possessed by
the Judge is approximately 500 acres. Most of the property is in
Kaverirajapuram, a village whose population predominantly consists of
dalits, Irulas (scheduled tribe), and most backward classes like
Naidus and Boyars and others. The total extent of the village is about
1700 acres.
Annexed to this petition are: (i) A map showing the details of land
held and owned by the Judge and his family members; and public and
Government lands occupied by him, and (ii) Extracts from village ‘A’
Register which provides the classification of land of the relevant
survey numbers in the judge’s occupation, from reliable sources. The
current ‘A’ register reflecting transfer of Patta is not accessible.
(iii) Photographs showing the naming of the village road leading to
his lands which is in Tamil and reads as “Emperor of Justice P.D.
Dinakaran Road, Kaverirajapuram” (translation in English) and the
fencing of the land. (iv) Extracts of Revenue Standing Orders on
Assignment of Land.
(b) In all, the judge is in possession of approximately 440 Acres in
Kaverirajapuram Village alone, almost one fourth of the village.
Out of this 440 acres:
(i) 310.33 acres are ‘patta’ lands owned by the Judge and his family
(In his name, his wife Dr.Vinodini’s name, his two daughters – Amudha
Porkodi & Amirthra Porkodi, one Cannan and another person, the latter
two are reported to be his close relatives).
(ii) About 41.27 acres is public land classified as Government
poramboke, eri (lake, stream) and other water bodies, pathway and
Tamarind Grove.
(iii) About 88.33 acres are classified as Government ‘Anadhinam’ lands
(which can be allotted only to landless poor as per Board Standing
Orders of the Tamil Nadu Government).
2. STARTLING MODUS OPERANDI
i) Reports are that the patta lands originally belonged to backward
and most backward classes. The purchase of lands seems to have started
before his appointment as a judge and continued there after.
ii) Patta lands have been bought in the name of the judge, his wife
Dr. Vinodini, his unmarried daughters Amudha Porkodi and Amirtha
Porkodi, one Cannan and another person, the latter two are reported to
be close relatives. Daughter Amudha Porkodi got married recently on
15.12.2008.
iii) Vast extents of Government ‘poromboke’ lands, Government
Anadhinam lands, waterbodies like lakes, canals, streams, common
village pathways and an ancient mud fortress abutting his patta lands
were progressively encroached upon.
iv) The villagers were then prevented access to these common property
resources. Nearly 600 families of dalits and landless poor in the
village are reported to have sought distribution of Government
poramboke and Anandhinam lands to them as per G.O.(Ms) No.241 dated
12.09.2006 issued by the State Government. They are yet to receive the
assignment.
v) Immediately thereafter, these common /government lands were fenced
in by the judge.
There is every possibility that after this representation the fence
around the encroached areas may be removed. But as on today, the fence
exists around the Government lands and village common resources and we
write this after some of us personally inspected the fence and the
relevant records and maps. The fact remains that the common village
lands near the judge’s property are out of bounds for the villagers.
Enquiry reveals that the local police is used to prevent access to the
area.
iv) The Government Anadhinam lands are meant to be assigned only to
landless poor for small holdings and personal cultivation as per
Standing Orders of the Board of Revenue, Tamil Nadu Government.
v) The Government poramboke lands also are meant for common enjoyment
of the villagers and cannot be occupied by any individual. Under a
recent Scheme of the State Government, they can be distributed to the
landless poor.
vi) The water-bodies too are meant only for common enjoyment of the
villagers.
vii) By erecting a fence the judge has deprived the local villagers
access to common property resources of the village, on which many of
them depend for their livelihood.
viii) The villagers are not able to have access to the water bodies
and due to extensive use of water for the judge’s farm where there are
huge fruit orchards and other cultivations, the water source for the
village has got depleted. Large bore wells/ open wells are said to
have been dug inside the farm.
ix) It is reported that the entire village administration and
government machinery has been exploited to provide facilities and free
labour for the judge’s property. It is reliably learnt that the judge
is attempting to manipulate revenue records to obtain pattas for the
public and government lands in his occupation.
x) It is an open secret in legal circles that the judicial officers
and staff of the judiciary are often asked to supervise and facilitate
the maintenance and upkeep of the farm.
xi) We have specific reports that anyone who seeks any information
like Survey Numbers and extent regarding even the village common lands
and Government lands is intimidated and not provided the information.
Villagers are under mortal fear in this regard.
xii) Even the village road that leads to the property has been named
as ‘Neethi Arasar P.D. Dinakaran Saalai’’. (“Emperor of Justice, P.D.
Dinakaran road” )
3. LANDS IN POOVALAI VILLAGE
The judge is also reported to possess more than 50 acres of lands with
mango orchards in Poovalai Village, Gummidipoondi Taluk, Vellore
District, Tamil Nadu. He has been seen visiting the orchard
periodically.
4. LAND VALUE
The market value of these properties are in the range of about 20-25
lakhs per acre. It appears that the land holding is of an extent of
approximately 550 acres.
It needs to be ascertained whether the judge has filed returns before
the Tax authorities in respect of these properties. It also needs to
be verified if these disclosures of these assets has been made, and
updated, as per the 1997 Resolution regarding Declaration of Judge’s
assets.
***
URBAN PROPERTY
i) On the plot bearing Door No.28, East Park Road(junction of Pulla
Avenue and East Park street), Shenoy Nagar, Chennai – 600 030
allegedly owned by the Judge, a office/commercial construction has
been put up consisting of stilt + 5 floors, making it a multi storeyed
building under the Development Control Rules. Having regard to the
dimensions of the plot, fire safety requirements, etc., under the
Development Control Rules, construction of such a multi-storeyed
building is illegal. This is a newly constructed building and he was
frequently observed at the site to check the construction.
ii) The Judge has been observed a number of times to be supervising
the construction of a building at J – 81, I Main Road, Anna Nagar
East, Chennai – 600 102. His involvement in this immovable property
and source of funding needs to be ascertained.
iii) In Arakkonam Town, the residential building ‘Anbagam’ (a
residential building said to be owned by Mr.Justice P.D.Dinakaran) was
recently renovated. It reportedly encroaches on the main road by 10
feet.
***
II. INAPPROPRIATE JUDICIAL ORDERS IN CERTAIN CASES
A. JUDGMENT IN BINNY LTD.
Binny Ltd. was a BIFR company but subsequently came out of it. It had
extremely valuable immovable properties situated in the heart of the
city. These were directed to be auctioned by Justice Dinakaran at 35%
of the guideline value. Approximately 1,260 grounds of land (about 70
acres) situated in Perambur was sold to SSI Ltd. for just Rs.66
crores. At that time, the guideline value was almost Rs.180 crores and
the actual market value was even higher.
The promoters of SSI Ltd. who had purchased the land from Binny Ltd.
were subsequently involved in extensive rigging of their shares. The
assessments of these promoters were reopened under Sec.148, Income Tax
Act, 1961. It is reported that the demand was to the tune of more than
Rs. 52 crores. Six writ petitions were filed challenging the reopening
of the assessment under Sec.148. The Writ Petitions were heard by
Justice P.D. Dinakaran. The judgment is reported in 279 ITR 679.
Justice P.D. Dinakaran falsely stated that a “concession” was made by
the Counsel for the Income Tax Department. This was objected to by the
Counsel after receiving the copy of the Order. Justice P.D.Dinakaran
promised to expunge those sentences that referred to the alleged
concession but this was not done. Last week, the Writ Appeals filed by
the Department against this Order have been allowed by the Division
Bench presided by Justice F.M.Ibrahim Kalifullah. The Standing Counsel
for the Income Tax Department offered to file an Affidavit stating
that she never conceded and also referred to the oral representation
to Justice P.D.Dinakaran. The Division Bench has allowed the six Writ
Appeals by imposing costs of Rs.10,000/- each.
B. On 18-03-2009, the Times of India, Bangalore edition, carried the
following report :
CJ leads speedy disposal of bail
BANGALORE: In a special drive to prevent pendency of cases, the High
Court on Tuesday disposed of numerous bail applications out of around
300 petitions in a record time. Each bail plea was dealt with in about
30 seconds. Chief Justice, P.D. Dinakaran himself disposed of 46 cases
in 20 minutes by granting bail (some conditional) in all of them.
The rapid fire sequence went something like this :- What is the charge
(section)? What stage is the trial? Completed or not? Chargesheet has
been filed? Final report submitted. Bail granted. The cases were
marginal and some pertain to charges of rape, theft, murder and
dacoity including Vasanth Salian, accused in Chemmanur Jewellers
dacoity case. The Chief Justice and five judges heard these cases
between 4 and 4.45 p.m.”
The members of the Bangalore Bar state that while minor cases were
allocated to the other Judges, the ones posted before Chief Justice
P.D.Dinakaran included cases of persons charged with serious crimes
under the Indian Penal Code and also those who had serious cases filed
against them by the Enforcement Department. Bail was granted in all
these cases. It is further stated that this was a one-time disposal
drive. This matter needs to be investigated to ascertain the names of
the accused and the gravity of the offences.
C. Another matter of concern raised by the Bangalore Bar pertains to
cases of illegal mining filed against several influential persons.
These were transferred from the Dharwad Circuit Bench which was
hearing these matters to the Chief Justice’s Bench.
D. Yet another matter related to the mining lobby which wanted to
acquire 540 acres of forest land. The State Government had granted
leases in respect of 380 acres of forest land. This was set aside by a
Single Judge of the High Court who pointed out several illegalities on
the part of the State Government including that some applicants had
filed applications after the date of the opening of the tender. The
Writ Appeal Order passed by Chief Justice P.D. Dinakaran granted
licenses to all the applicants and even increased the area allotted
over and above what was granted by the Government. The issues pointed
out by the Single Judge were not dealt with. This is a matter which
has greatly agitated the Bangalore Bar.
III. Number Plate of Chief Justice P.D. Dinakaran’s Car – Contrary to
Motor Vehicles Act
Chief Justice P.D.Dinakaran, known to misuse office to exhibit pomp
and grandeur, had the number plate of his official car (KA-03-GA-5767)
done up in red background with gold embossed letters. This is
permitted under the Motor Vehicles Rules only for the President of
India and State Governors. Even the Prime Minister and the Chief
Justice of India cannot use such a number plate. There were adverse
news reports in leading newspapers on this issue. (Mid-Day dated
29.06.2009).
***
Our Appeal
We are greatly saddened that we are forced to impugn the conduct of a
holder of high judicial office; we are doing so only in the larger
interests of the institution of the judiciary which is sacred and
since the increasing reports against the judge have assumed alarming
proportions.
Conscious of our responsibility not to lightly bring any judge to
disrepute, we have exercised due diligence to verify the allegations
to the best of the means available to us, including visits to some of
the concerned properties. However as private citizens and members of
the Bar we have severe limitations to call for information and to
investigate these matters. In fact there are reports against Mr.
Justice P.D. Dinakaran of irregular acquisition of properties
elsewhere, permitting illegal appointments, favouritism and other
improprieties in the discharge of judicial and administrative
functions as a judge of the High Court. The information we have
gathered so far is reliable and does not permit us to let it pass
without calling for urgent attention and appropriate action by the
Supreme Court and other Constitutional functionaries.
We also wish to convey the fear expressed by the villagers in
Kaverirajapuram, all of whom are greatly apprehensive of the severe
reprisals and consequences if they speak out. In fact, after speaking
to them we ourselves are greatly anxious for their safety. It also is
evident that the entire administrative machinery has been intimidated
by the judge, as no official is willing to respond to any queries
regarding the village properties, including innocuous questions like
details about government lands.
The allegations set out above are strongly suggestive of abuse of
office and corruption amounting to grave judicial misconduct. As the
matter involves the Head of the State Judiciary in Karnataka, it is
one of immense gravity and calls for immediate investigation and
action. When a judge’s reputation is clouded in such adverse reports,
his elevation to the highest Court of our country portends grave
consequences for the judiciary itself.
This case also exposes the shortcomings of the present procedure
adopted for choosing judges for appointment to the higher judiciary
and underscores the urgent need to put in place a Judicial Commission
which will have a more democratic and transparent functioning to
enable the choice of persons of impeccable integrity and calibre to
dispense justice.
We, as responsible members of the Bar, duty bound to safeguard the
independence of the Judiciary, feel impelled in these circumstances to
request you
(i) not to appoint Mr.Justice P.D. Dinakaran as judge of the Supreme
Court of India; and
(ii) initiate a thorough enquiry into all the allegations against
Mr.Justice P.D.Dinakaran, Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court and
take appropriate action thereafter.
We request you to act on our representation in public interest, as
otherwise the confidence of the public in the majesty of law will be
shaken.
Yours truly
R. Vaigai,
Sriram Panchu,
K.R. Tamizhmani,
Anna Mathew,
S.S. Vasudevan,
Geetha Ramaseshan,
Sudha Ramalingam,
N.L. Rajah,
D. Nagasaila,
S. Devikarani,
T. Mohan
***
Details of land holdings of Justice P.D.Dinakaran at kaverirajapuram
village, Tiruttani Taluk, Tiruvallur district, Tamil Nadu
***
7th September, 2009
To
Hon’ble Mr.Justice K.G. Balakrishnan
The Chief Justice of India
Hon’ble Mr.Justice B.N. Agarwal
Hon’ble Mr.Justice S.H. Kapadia
Hon’ble Mr.Justice Tarun Chatterjee
Hon’ble Mr. Justice Altamas Kabir
Supreme Court of India,
New Delhi.
Sirs,
We are heartened by the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India
to make available for public scrutiny the declarations of assets of
the judges of the Court. As eminent jurists and other Constitutional
functionaries have pointed out, such transparency only enhances the
stature of the judiciary. The High Courts have begun to follow the
lead given by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court has now approved the names of five judges for being
appointed to the Supreme Court, and some judges for appointment as
Chief Justices of High Courts.
Since these appointments would be the first ones after the historic
decision of the Supreme Court judges to declare their assets publicly,
it would only be in the fitness of things to maintain the same high
principle and require that the assets of the prospective appointees to
the higher judiciary should be in the public domain before these
appointments are cleared. Such a course of action would demonstrate
that the judiciary is fully committed to transparency, and erase any
residual apprehensions in the public mind.
We, therefore request the Supreme Court to require that all
prospective appointments to the Supreme Court and the High Courts
including those recommended recently (Hindu dt.28th and 29th August
2009) should be cleared only after the proposed appointees make a
declaration of their assets in public.
Yours faithfully,
R. Vaigai
Sriram Panchu, Senior Advocate
K.R. Tamizhmani
Anna Mathew
S.S. Vasudevan
Geetha Ramaseshan
Sudha Ramalingam
N.L. Rajah
D. Nagasaila
S. Devikarani
T. Mohan
chhotemianinshallah
Accountability, M'Lord
Public disclosure of assets by judges may have been agreed upon, but
the main problem remains: Absence of an independent credible
institution which could entertain and investigate complaints, and take
action, against errant judges.
Prashant Bhushan PRINT SHARE COMMENTS
The foundations for the right to information in India were laid by a
judgment of the Supreme Court in 1974 in the election case of Raj
Narain vs Indira Gandhi, where the court while rejecting the
government's claim of privilege on the disclosure of the security
instructions for the prime minister, stated as follows:
In a government of responsibility like ours where all the agents of
the public must be responsible for their conduct there can be but few
secrets. The people of this country have a right to know every public
act, everything that is done in a public way, by their public
functionaries. They are entitled to know the particulars of every
public transaction in all its bearing. The right to know, which is
derived from the concept of freedom of speech, though not absolute, is
a factor which should make one wary, when secrecy is claimed for
transactions which can, at any rate, have no repercussions on public
security. To cover with the veil of secrecy the common routine
business, is not in the interest of the public. Such secrecy can
seldom be legitimately desired. It is generally desired for the
purpose of parties and politics or personal interest or bureaucratic
routine. The responsibility of officials to explain and to justify
their acts is the chief safeguard against operation and corruption
This principle of the right to information about the public acts of
public officials was expanded by the Supreme Court in 2000 and 2002 in
the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Peoples Union for
Civil Liberties (PUCL) cases, where the court held that this right to
information of citizens included the right to know about the criminal
antecedents as well as assets and liabilities of candidates aspiring
to hold electoral office. The issue that this information about assets
and liabilities was the personal information of the candidates and
therefore did not come under the right to know of citizens was
considered and expressly rejected by the Supreme Court in the
following words:
there is no question of knowing personal affairs of MPs and MLAs. The
limited information is – whether the person who is contesting
elections is involved in any criminal case... citizens who elect MPs
and MLAs are entitled to know that their representative has not
misconducted himself in collecting wealth after being elected (AIR
2002 Supreme Court 2112 para 50).
In India, all public servants employed by the central or a state
government or any other public authority under their control are
required under the relevant civil service rules to submit returns of
movable and immovable assets owned by them and their immediate family.
However these asset declarations are not made public and so far have
not been accessible under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, though
some State Information Commissions (such as the Himachal Pradesh State
Information Commission which has ruled that the asset disclosures of
IAS officers should be put on the web site) have ruled that they
should be so accessible. There is, however, a growing number of
countries in the world, where public disclosure of assets and
conflicts of interest is required, as measures of good governance. In
the United States, the Ethics in Government Act 1976 requires annual
disclosure of financial information by the president, vice president,
members of Congress, federal judges, presidential appointees, and
other officials and employees earning at or above a specified pay
scale or with policymaking responsibilities. Many other countries such
as South Africa, Argentina, South Korea, Latvia, etc, require various
forms of public disclosure of assets of public servants including
judges.
The issue of asset disclosure of judges in India arose out of a RTI
application filed with the Supreme Court by an untiring RTI activist
Subhash Agarwal, seeking information as to whether judges of the high
courts and the Supreme Court were complying with the 1997 “Code of
Conduct” adopted at the Chief Justices Conference which required
judges to disclose their assets in confidence to their chief justices.
The public information officer of the Supreme Court (endorsed by the
chief justice) responded by saying that the information did not exist
in the court registry. In the appeal before the Central Information
Commission (CIC), it transpired that the Supreme Court was making a
distinction between information with the Chief Justice of India’s
(CJI) office and that with the Supreme Court. The CIC rejected this
distinction and directed the information officer of the Court to
obtain this information from the CJI’s office and provide it to the
RTI applicant. This prompted the Supreme Court to file a writ petition
in the Delhi High Court challenging the CIC order. Though the CIC had
merely directed release of information about whether judges were
disclosing their assets to the chief justice, the Supreme Court argued
that this would pave the way for people seeking actual asset
disclosures under the RTI Act. They claimed that asset disclosure was
exempted under the RTI Act on the basis that this information was
disclosed by judges to the chief justice under a “fiduciary
relationship” and that this was “personal information having no
relationship to public interest and would cause an unwarranted
invasion of the privacy” of judges. The Court further claimed that the
CJI was not a “Public Authority” amenable to RTI requests under the
RTI Act, a claim the current CJI continues to maintain despite the
recent resolution of the judges of the Supreme Court to declare their
assets on the Court’s web site.
While the high court heard submissions in the matter and had reserved
judgment, the issue became a major controversy after the government
introduced the Judges (Declaration of Assets and Liabilities) Bill
2009, in Parliament (3 August 2009) providing for asset disclosure of
judges, but with a controversial clause 6 which read,
Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being
in force, the declaration made by a judge to the competent authority
shall not be made public or disclosed, and shall not be called for or
put into question by any citizen, court or authority, and save as
provided in sub-section 2, no judge shall be subjected to any enquiry
or query in relation to the contents of the declaration by any
person.
This led to a furore in Parliament and members of Parliament cutting
across party lines unanimously condemned this clause. The feisty Ram
Jethmalani alleged that the bill was an outcome of a conspiracy of
corruption between the government and the judiciary. He said that,
“what the bill does is, it creates a suspicion in the public mind that
the judiciary is seeking favours from the executive – now, this
privileged position, which the judges are seeking from the executive
makes them totally subservient to the executive.” The government was
forced to withdraw the bill post haste.
Soon thereafter, Justice Shylendra Kumar of the Karnataka High Court
wrote an article publicly disagreeing with the CJI’s stand that asset
disclosure would lead to harassment of judges at the hands of
disgruntled litigants (Indian Express, 23 August 2009). He said that
many judges were not opposed to public declaration of assets and the
CJI could not speak on behalf of all the judges. He volunteered to put
his asset declarations on the high court’s web site.
Immediately thereafter, the media published Justice K Kannan’s (from
Punjab and Haryana High Court) disclosure of assets, made in April
2009 in response to the Campaign for Judicial Accountability’s appeal
to all the judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court to
voluntarily make their assets public. Clearly now, there were a
trickle of high court judges, willing to defy the CJI to make their
asset declarations public.
Justice Kannan had however expressed his view on his blog that while
he had no objection to his own asset declarations being made public,
he felt that the requirement to make it compulsory for judges to do
so, could compromise their independence. His reasoning was that the
judge could be embarrassed by a litigant who he was trying for
possessing disproportionate assets and who in turn could accuse the
judge of similarly possessing disproportionate assets. He felt that
this could compromise the ability of the judge to fairly decide the
case of that litigant. In response to Justice Kannan, I pointed out
that this was not a valid objection, and that even if introducing
accountability for judges could marginally compromise their
independence, the increase in judicial corruption due to lack of
accountability would cause much greater damage to public interest than
a marginal and rare compromise on the independence of a judge.
Soon after the contents of the Asset Disclosure bill became known, the
Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR), (a campaign
organisation which has been raising these issues) had issued a public
statement rubbishing the judiciary’s grounds for claiming secrecy over
their assets. We pointed out that three reasons for withholding public
disclosure have been advanced by judges.
(i) Disgruntled litigants will misuse the disclosure to indulge in
mudslinging against judges.
(ii) That judges cannot defend themselves unlike politicians.
(iii) That there are no clear rules and format for disclosure.
The campaign pointed out that none of these reasons seem to be strong
enough to justify the proposed secrecy. Disgruntled persons can fling
mud on others in authority as well. But the Supreme Court rightly did
not let that come in the way of ordering disclosure of assets of
aspiring MPs and MLAs. They do not even have the protection of the
Contempt of Courts Act that judges have. Making baseless allegations
is civil and criminal defamation for which action can be taken by
judges more easily than other persons. Moreover, the reputation of
persons in public office is not sullied by baseless allegations of
motivated persons. It is built upon their actions and behaviour, which
is generally known. So far as a format for disclosure is concerned, a
format for disclosure has been rigorously prescribed by the Supreme
Court itself for election candidates. The same format could be used by
judges, with whatever amendments that may be required. The CJAR said,
Only a public and annual declaration of assets as is done by all
federal judges of the US including judges of the US Supreme Court
would ensure that the objective of transparency through this proposed
Bill is achieved.
Many former chief justices, judges of the Supreme Court, including
justice Krishna Iyer, justice J S Verma and justice V N Khare as well
as eminent jurists like Ram Jethmalani, Shanti Bhushan, Fali Nariman
and Soli Sorabjee publicly aired their views in favour of public
declaration of judges’ assets. The issue snowballed into a major
public controversy arousing a lot of media interest. Ultimately the
CJI had to yield to the unrelenting public pressure and the Supreme
Court announced that the asset declarations of the judges would be put
up on the Court web site.
Justice Ravindra Bhat of the Delhi High Court finally delivered
judgment on the Supreme Court’s writ on 2 September 2009 after the
Court made it clear that it would not withdraw its writ petition
despite the judges’ decision to put their asset declarations on the
Court web site. Justice Bhat emphatically rejected the chief justice’s
oft-repeated claim that the CJI was not a public authority and that
the CJI’s office was not amenable to the RTI Act. He also held that
information about whether judges had been declaring assets to the
chief justice was decidedly held by the CJI and had to be disclosed to
the applicant. He also rejected the Supreme Court’s contention that
the asset disclosures have been given by judges to the chief justice
in a fiduciary relationship (one of trust, like a lawyer-client or
patient- doctor relationship), by holding that this information was
required to be provided to the chief justice by the Code of Conduct
adopted by the judges themselves. But he went on to hold that the
information was personal information of judges entitled for protection
under clause 8(1)J of the exemptions in the RTI Act, unless the
information officer or the CIC came to the conclusion that the public
interest in disclosure of this information outweighs the interest of
privacy of the judge. However, since the applicant in this case did
not ask for the actual asset disclosures but only whether judges were
making them, Justice Bhat did not decide whether the public interest
in disclosure of judges’ assets outweighs the public interest in
protecting the privacy of judges. Overall, the judgment is a stinging
rebuff to the CJI and it is to be seen if he would like to push this
issue further by taking it up in appeal before a division bench of the
high court or to the Supreme Court.
This issue of asset disclosure of judges’ assets caught the pubic and
media imagination also because it was associated with the RTI Act,
which has become one of the most popular legislations of recent times.
The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms took up this
campaign, though it was not among our principal demands for judicial
accountability. In a statement issued in response to the Supreme Court
decision, the CJAR pointed out that the decision of the Supreme Court
judges
...does not obviate the need for a law to make such public
declarations compulsory. Indeed, the law must provide for an annual
public declaration of assets and liabilities as well as income tax
returns of all public servants, including judges. It is only when
people can compare the assets of public servants with their legal
sources of income, that one can catch public servants who have
acquired assets disproportionate to their legal income. The argument
that income tax returns or asset disclosures of public servants is an
unwarranted invasion of privacy of public servants is specious, since
in a democracy, the people who are the real sovereign are entitled to
know whether their public servants are paying their taxes and whether
they have acquired assets which are disproportionate to their legal
income.
The public disclosure of assets by judges, though a welcome first
step, is certainly not the end of the serious problem of judicial
accountability or the lack of it. The main problem is the absence of
an independent credible institution, which could entertain complaints
against judges, investigate them and take action against errant
judges. This needs to be a full-time body which is independent of the
government as well as of the judiciary. Institutionalising an in-house
body of sitting judges as a Judicial Council to entertain complaints
against judges as proposed in the Judges Inquiry Amendment Bill will
not serve the purpose. In-house bodies of lawyers, i e, the Bar
Council, and of doctors, i e, the Medical Council have notoriously
failed to seek accountability of lawyers and doctors for misconduct.
Such bodies are plagued by inevitable conflict of interest. Moreover,
a body of sitting judges would not be able to devote the time required
to properly enquire into complaints against judges, which have been
growing.
Apart from this, there is a serious problem with the method of
appointing judges to the higher judiciary. There is not only no
transparency in the process, there is also no system or method
followed for preparing shortlists or for choosing among eligible
candidates. The whole process is totally arbitrary and ad hoc, which
has led to political favouritism when appointments were in the hands
of the executive, and nepotism when appointments have been with the
judiciary. Here too, we need a full-time independent institution that
can methodically, systematically and transparently go about the job of
selecting judges of the higher judiciary.
We also need to get rid of the Veeraswami judgment which restrains
criminal investigation of judges without the prior written permission
of the CJI. This has tied the hands of investigating agencies from
investigating judges of the higher judiciary. A Judicial Bureau of
Investigation under an independent Judicial Complaints Commission
should be set up to investigate complaints against judges. We also
need to amend the Contempt of Courts Act to do away with the colonial
and antiquated “scandalising or lowering the authority of the Court”,
from the definition of criminal contempt. This has deterred public
exposure of corrupt judges, and it is certainly not necessary to
protect the honour or dignity of honest judges or of the judiciary.
The road to securing judicial accountability, therefore, is still long
and hard. But proper accountability for such a powerful and vital
organ like the Indian judiciary is absolutely vital for the survival
of rule of law and of democracy in this country. The lessons from the
asset disclosure controversy are that an organised public campaign and
galvanised public opinion can and sometimes does bring about
fundamental institutional changes in a society.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prashant Bhushan is a public interest lawyer in the Supreme Court and
a member of the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms.
Postscript: Five new judges have been recommended for appointment to
the Supreme Court. Again, as always, the process of selection has been
done without any transparency. Though some of the judges nominated
enjoy excellent reputations, some others do not. One does not know how
and on what basis the selection has been made. The least that needs to
be done in this context is to publish their asset declarations at
least some time before the appointments are notified. That is the
minimum that the people of the country deserve. It is indeed their
fundamental right, declared by the Supreme Court itself.
...and I am Sid Harth
bademiyansubhanallah
Apex court indecisive on Justice Dinakaran
Ians September 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court’s collegium
Friday failed to arrive at a decision on whether to recall its
recommendation to the government to elevate Karnataka High Court Chief
Justice P.D. Dinakaran to the apex court in view of the allegations
levelled against him.
“No decision was taken,” said a senior official from the office of
Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan when asked if the collegium
took any decision regarding Justice Dinakaran’s elevation to the apex
court.
Dinakaran has been short-listed for elevation to the Supreme Court.
However, he was reportedly summoned by the Chief Justice of India K.G.
Balakrishnan for clarifications following allegations about land
acquisitions against him by a section of Madras High Court advocates.
During the recent meeting in Delhi, Dinakaran reportedly told
Balakrishnan that the charges against him were not true.
The apex court collegium of its five seniormost judges met Friday
evening to take stock of the situation arising out of the serious
allegations levelled by five legal luminaries against Justice
Dinakaran.
The collegium, headed by Justice Balakrishnan and comprising of
Justice B.N. Agrawal, Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice Tarun Chatterjee
and Justice Altmas Kabir, met to examine if the collegium’s decision
need to be reviewed.
Leading advocates including F.S. Nariman, Shanti Bhushan, Ashok Desai
and Ram Jethmalani had suggested that the Chief Justice of India
should reconsider the decision to elevate the judge to the Supreme
Court.
The apex court collegium has recommended to the government to appoint
Dinakaran and four others as apex court judges. The recommendation is
usually binding.
The Advocates Association of Bangalore Thursday threatened to boycott
the court of state Chief Justice Dinakaran in view of the allegations
against him.
They also decided to send a memorandum to the prime minister, Chief
Justice of India and the law minister appealing to them not to elevate
Dinakaran to the Supreme Court nor allow him to continue as chief
justice of the Karnataka High Court.
“The high court has a vacation (for Dussehra festivities) from Friday
till Oct 4. It resumes on Oct 5 and if Dinakaran attends the court, we
will not allow him to sit in his court,” T.G. Ravi, a spokesperson of
the association, had told IANS.
bademiyansubhanallah
Buta panel alleges caste bias in Justice Dinakaran case
TNN 25 September 2009, 04:18am IST
NEW DELHI: Wading into the Justice Dinakaran controversy, National
Commission for SCs on Thursday said the tirade against the Chief
Justice of Karnataka High Court should be stopped immediately failing
which it would undertake a probe into the vilification campaign.
Importantly, NCSC headed by Buta Singh has charged the Manmohan Singh
government of encouraging anti-Dinakaran protestors. It said,
"Unfortunately, the Union government is keeping silent which has given
sufficient room to the media to play upon the constitutional rights of
SCs as granted in the Constitution."
In a statement, NCSC said that the campaign was motivated by caste
bias against Dinakaran who is an SC. It said the campaign was carried
out by "anti-dalit and casteist elements in Bar Council of India, Bars
of states and judicial activists who are known for having cateist
attitude towards the increasing strength of SC/STs in the judicial
services of the country".
The opposition to Justice Dinakaran's elevation to Supreme Court has
turned into a full-blown confrontation, with political outfits
pitching in. The statement from NCSC adds to the caste dimension.
The NCSC said, "If the tirade against SCs in judiciary is not stopped,
the commission will be dutybound to take stock of the situation which
has arisen from the unabashed and continuous campaign of vilification
against CJI K G Balakrishnan and Justice Dinakaran."
In another case of caste dimension in judicial appointments,
parliamentary forum of OBC MPs has written to law minister Veerappa
Moily against the appointment of four judges to Andhra Pradesh HC. In
a letter, OBC forum chairman Hanumantha Rao complained that none of
the four appointed judges were from OBC/SC/ST/woman categories even
though ten of them had applied.
bademiyansubhanallah
Banks may have to return funds meant for disabled
Dhananjay Mahapatra , TNN 30 September 2009, 03:20am IST
NEW DELHI: Banks pursuing defaulting borrowers is common. But, in the
Supreme Court on Tuesday the borrowers turned the tables on all
nationalised
banks, which to start with may have to pay Rs 50 lakh each.
It's the doggedness of the Association of Borrowers of Karnataka which
appears to have paid off in taking to task the financial institutions
and banks, who have been pocketing an estimated Rs 724 crore annually
by rounding up interest tax collections since 1993.
Petitioner association's counsel Kiran Suri drew the attention of a
Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices P
Sathasivam and B S Chauhan to a 2004 judgment of the SC directing the
Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to recover this money, now
totalling nearly Rs 10,000 crore, to create a corpus for utilisation
in implementation of the Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999.
She said the SC had realised that the recovery process would take time
and had hence directed the nationalised banks to pay Rs 50 lakh each
which would constitute the initial funds for the implementation of the
Act.
When additional solicitor general Indira Jaising conceded that it was
not for the government to collect the money due from the banks, the
Bench issued notice to 27 nationalised banks seeking their response as
to why they have not complied with the 2004 verdict of the apex
court.
In 2004, the SC had directed: "Despite the progressive stance of the
court and the initiatives taken by the government, the implementation
of the Disabilities Act is far from being satisfactory. The disabled
are victims of discrimination in spite of beneficial provisions of the
Act."
"We are therefore of the opinion that in the larger interest a fund
for the aforementioned purpose be created with the amount at the hands
of the Union of India and the appellants and other concerned banks,
which may be managed by the CAG," it had said.
"We would request the CAG to effect recoveries of all the excess
amount realised by the Union of India by way of interest tax and
interest by the banks and other financial institutions and create the
corpus of such fund therefrom. The appellants and other concerned
banks are also hereby directed to contribute to the extent of Rs 50
lakh each in the said fund," the SC had said in its 2004 judgment.
The CJI-headed Bench said at least the banks should have paid up Rs 50
lakh to start with. "Now individual banks have to be pursued and the
money due from them have to be extracted," the Bench observed.
chhotemianinshallah
Mayawati government accused of misleading apex court on dalit leaders’
memorials
September 30th, 2009 - 7:06 pm ICT by IANS -
New Delhi, Sep 30 (IANS) The Uttar Pradesh government was Wednesday
accused of misleading the Supreme Court on the alleged violation of a
Sep 8 order halting construction at various dalit leaders’ memorial
sites in Lucknow.
The accusation was made by Lucknow resident Mithilesh Kumar Singh,
whose lawsuit against the spate of dalit leaders’ memorials in the
city has left the Mayawati government facing contempt proceedings
before the apex court for allegedly violating its Sep 8 order.
In his rejoinder, filed in response to state Chief Secretary Atul
Kumar Gupta’s reply to the apex court’s notice as to why the contempt
to court proceedings should not be launched against it, Singh said
that “the state government was trying to camouflage its violation of
the court’s order in the garb of confusion over the order, though
there was none.”
In his reply to the court’s notice Sep 17, while admitting the
possibility of the government transgressing the Sep 8 order by way of
continued construction at various memorial sites, Gupta had blamed it
on “confusion” that arose out of the court’s order.
He had asserted that it was not clear on which sites the construction
had been stayed and on which the construction was allowed to be
continued.
Refuting Gupta’s assertion in his reply, Singh said that here was
absolutely no confusion in the court’s order and if there was any
confusion, it was the government’s duty to get this clarified rather
than violating the court’s order.
“In the garb of so called confusion, though there was none, the state
functionaries carried on the constructions at sites although they were
restrained to do so by this court,” said Singh in his reply.
He also asserted that “to mislead this court and to create confusion,
the state of Uttar Pradesh through its chief secretary, has split one
composite site into different projects and coined new names for them
in an attempt to show that the projects with newly coined names are
not covered under any lawsuit and on that basis they continued
constructions at those sites.”
“For example, Bhagidari Bhawan, Library and Police Chowki are all
parts of Ambedkar Sthal at Gomti Nagar, Lucknow. Also known as
Ambedkar Park, a complex within which all three sites are located, the
construction activity was admittedly not stopped under the pretext
that the above three sites were individually not under the ambit of
any lawsuit, despite the same being within the Ambedkar Park, whose
development as a memorial site was very much challenged,” said Singh.
The Supreme Court, too, on Sep 18 had expressed its dissatisfaction
over the Uttar Pradesh government’s explanation of the alleged
violation of the Sep 8 order.
“We are not satisfied with your affidavit,” a bench of judges B.N.
Agrawal and Aftab Alam had remarked after perusing Gupta’s reply to
the court’s notice.
bademiyansubhanallah
SC to examine legality of Mayawati's 2600 crore statue project
Agencies
Posted: Sunday , Oct 04, 2009 at 1114 hrs
new delhi: The Bench of Justices told the state that it would examine
the Constitutional validity of the massive project.
The Mayawati Government's decision to spend a whopping Rs 2,600 crore
public money for constructing memorials of BSP founder Kanshiram and
other Dalit leaders in Lucknow city would come up for scrutiny before
a special Bench of the Supreme Court tomorrow.
The Bench of Justices B N Agrawal and Aftab Alam had on September 18
firmly told the state that it would examine the Constitutional
validity of the massive project and had expressed dissatisfaction over
the claim of the state that it had put on hold the project until
restraint order passed by the Bench was vacated.
In a blunt message to the UP government, the court had indicated that
it would examine whether the state government can spend huge public
money for constructing statues of and memorials for political
leaders.
"We have to examine whether you can spend so much from the public
money. Serious questions arise in this petition," the Bench said
adding "the cabinet and the legislature have to act under the
Constitution".
The apex court had also expressed dissatisfaction at the affidavit
filed by the state which denied that construction activities were in
full swing at the project site despite the country's highest court's
stay imposed on further construction on an application filed by some
persons and an NGO.
bademiyansubhanallah
Govt to ‘sensitise’ cops to SC/ST atrocities act
Vikram Rautela
Posted: Sunday , Oct 04, 2009 at 0218 hrs
Ahmedabad: Barely a month after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
expressed his concern over the low conviction rates in cases of
atrocities against the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes, Gujarat
seems to have woken up.
In a bid to improve the dismal conviction rate in these cases in the
state, the government now wants to “sensitse” the police and the
public prosecutors.
The police will be the first to receive the training followed by all
public prosecutors.
Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Balwant Singh, said: “Sensitisation
is an ongoing process and we have been doing it from time to time. We
want to remove all the deficiencies in the system so that conviction
rate in cases of atrocities against SC-STs can be improved.”
He added: “We are trying to conduct similar sensitisation sessions for
public prosecutors also as they represent the state during the trials
of these cases. Talks with the state legal department are on in this
regard.”
Acting on the instructions of the department of Social Justice and
Empowerment, the state police top brass has recently ordered for
special sensitisation seminar and workshop to be conducted for trainee
police personnel in the Gujarat Police Academy (GPA) and three other
training schools in the state from this month.
A circular of the office of Additional Director General of Police
(Training) sent on October 1 to GPA and police training schools has
called for making these seminars part of the police training
curriculum.
P C Thakur, the in-charge Inspector General of Police, Training, said:
“These seminars and workshops will be conducted along with the routine
classes on the nitty-gritty of Atrocity Act.”
He added: “Various NGOs, legal experts and representatives of SC-ST
communities will interact with the trainee police personnel to
sensitise them about the importance of independent and professional
investigations and coordination among the police, public prosecutors
and the judiciary in making a foolproof case against the accused.”
Thankur said personnel of all ranks up to Deputy Superintendents of
Police (DySPs), who are trained at GPA and police training schools,
will henceforth be sensitised in the implementation of the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and other
issues relating to SCs and STs in the state through these seminars and
workshops.
According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, against the
national average 32 per cent, the conviction rate in cases of
atrocities against SCs/ STs in Gujarat is five per cent.
bademiyansubhanallah
Another police atrocity incident surfaces in state
Express News Service
Posted: Saturday , Oct 03, 2009 at 0140 hrs
Vadodara: Even as a team of the National Commission for Minorities is
to visit Vadodara shortly following allegations of police torture on
five youths arrested for allegedly assembling a crude rocket launcher,
yet another complaint of torture has been filed against the police.
The counsels of two Bharuch residents have alleged in an application
in the Vadodara Sessions Court that three Vadodara policemen, one from
the Detection of Crime Branch and two from the Special Operations
Group (SOG), resorted to torture on their clients.
According to the records of the J P Road police station, a 40-year-old
woman on May 18 had filed a complaint against two unknown persons who,
posing as police officers, stole three of her gold bangles worth Rs
24,000.
Later, the Vadodara DCB and SOG arrested Altaf Patel (30), a resident
of Manubar village, and Rehmat Dawood Makken (35), a resident of
Paguthan village in Bharuch taluka, in this connection, said the
Vadodara police. “The police arrested the duo on the basis of a
sketch,” said Inspector C B Chudasama from the J P Road police
station.
However, Jamil Patel and Ibrahim Dudhwalla, the counsels of the
accused have contradicted the police allegations.
Patel said the wives of both the arrested persons have filed a missing
complaint with the Bharuch ‘B’ division police station. As per an FIR
filed by Zaheeda, Makken’s wife, her husband was called by some plain-
clothes men. “She has stated that her husband went missing on
September 25,” said Patel.
Bharuch Local Crime Branch Inspector Dilip Agrawat, said he had no
idea about the arrests made by the Vadodara police.
Meanwhile, Patel in his application has said that both the accused
were brought to Vadodara and taken to police stations on September
26.
“The accused were brutally beaten up and given electric shock on their
private parts at the Navapura and JP Road police stations. One Sub-
Inspector, Parmar (his full name could not be confirmed as the J P
Road police denied any officer posted there by this name) and two
constables, Pradip and Sandeep, are the ones who resorted to torture
on the duo,” said Patel.
The J P Road police officials on Thursday had produced both the
accused before a Sessions Court. “However, the court had rejected the
police remand after we submitted the copies of the FIRs along with the
copy of our application. My client is in judicial custody after both
were taken to the SSG Hospital,” added Patel.
Assistant Commissioner of Police A C Pancholi, who was in-charge of
the operation as per the DCB officers, said the case is with the J P
Road police and declined to comment on the arrests.
bademiyansubhanallah
Custodial torture: NCM may summon Vadodara cops
Express News Service
Posted: Friday , Oct 02, 2009 at 0048 hrs
Vadodara: The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) will shortly
visit the city and summon police officers, if need be, in view of
complaints of police torture on five youths arrested allegedly for
assembling a crude rocket launcher.
NCM, in a letter to the state chief secretary, has also sought
submission of the medical examination reports of the five youths.
The family members of the five detainees and the community leaders
took up the matter with the NCM on Tuesday alleging torture on them in
custody. They also said the police threatened them with dire
consequences if they spoke out against the police atrocities.
Five people were arrested by plain clothes policemen from Patel Faliya
of Hathikhana in Vadodara between September 1 and 3. They were alleged
to have hatched a conspiracy to create communal disturbance during
Ganesh Visarjan in 2008. The police said the accused had also
assembled a crude rocket launcher.
The family members said that even the people who tried to help them
were threatened by the police. Following their representation, the NCM
asked the authorities to conduct medical test on the accused and
demanded the report. The NCM, in its letter to the state Chief
Secretary, stated they will be visiting Vadodara and summon the
concerned police officers if needed.
Vadodara Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana said, “We have not
received any letter from the NCM. If it is addressed to the chief
secretary, when it reaches us and we will act on it accordingly.” The
chief secretary remained unavailable for comments.
The youths detained include Zahir Shaikh, Usman Shah, Iqbal Nazir
Shaikh, Mushtaq Ismail Shaikh and Amin Razzak Shah.
Anhad, which had earlier taken up the issue, also alleged that the
Vadodara city police “illegally detained” five youths from the city
violating the D K Basu Supreme Court guidelines.
The police have booked them under the provisions of the Explosives
Act, Arms Act, CRPC 153 (A, B and C), and Section 120 for conspiracy.
Sid Harth
And if he wasn’t well-connected?
Vir Sanghvi, Hindustan Times
November 14, 2009
First Published: 22:55 IST(14/11/2009)
Last Updated: 23:20 IST(14/11/2009)
Don’t India’s politicians get it? The significance of the Jessica Lall
case goes much beyond the fact that a young girl was murdered and that
her killer was finally convicted.
The true significance of the case is that it symbolises the growing
divide between the educated middle class and India’s bloated, corrupt
political class.
Try looking at it from that perspective and you understand immediately
why the case still has the power to anger, infuriate and move all
educated Indians in a way that few other issues can.
A no-good son of a politician walks into a bar carrying a gun. The
girl behind the counter is educated, well brought up, models and
anchors TV shows for a living. She is bartending for a lark and so
refuses to treat the politician’s son with the deference he is
accustomed to. Angered by the girl’s ‘insolence’, the boy pulls out
his gun and shoots her dead.
From that point on, the political class closes ranks. Favours are
called in, phone calls are made, and instructions are issued. The
police contaminate the crime scene and damage the evidence. The
forensics guys are nobbled. Bullets are switched and lies are told.
When the case comes to court, the boy is acquitted.
The acquittal angers the middle class. One of their own has been
killed in full public view. They are not going to tolerate this
injustice. To the astonishment of the political class, they retaliate
using the tools of the new information age: TV debates, SMS campaigns,
internet petitions.
The politicians think that they can withstand the storm. They get one
of their own to defend the boy in the appeal and outlandish theories
are floated in court. But nothing works. The public outrage is too
strong. The murderer is sentenced to life imprisonment.
Given that the system is so obviously tilted in favour of the
political class, the case represents a rare victory for the educated
middle class. For once, justice has been done. A politician has failed
to keep his worthless son out of prison. A decent girl’s pointless
death has finally been avenged.
My guess is that even now, after the saga has entered modern Indian
folklore, our politicians still don’t understand why we regard the
case as a watershed in the battle between ordinary, educated Indians
and the venal politicians who manipulate the system.
How else do you explain the Delhi government’s behaviour over Manu
Sharma’s parole? By any standards, what the Congress regime in Delhi
has allowed is an utter and complete scandal. What’s worse is that
shameful lies are now being told to cover up for the government’s
venality.
The conventions governing parole say that if a convict has to attend
some significant event (his daughter’s wedding, his mother’s funeral,
etc.) then he must make an application asking for time off. An
investigation must be conducted into the reasons offered and only if
it is found that these reasons are legitimate can the convict be
allowed out of jail for a brief period.
Contrary to what the Delhi government is now suggesting, parole is
rarely granted. In Tihar jail, for example, less than 10 per cent of
parole requests have been granted over the last year. And the vast
majority is still pending, awaiting investigation.
In the case of Manu Sharma, parole was granted for a reason that is
already so unusual as to raise eyebrows — Manu wanted to check how his
business was doing. Two other reasons were tagged on. His grandmother
had just died and his mother was unwell.
The Delhi Police, which was asked to investigate the reasons, reported
entirely accurately that a) Manu’s business was doing okay, b) his
grandmother had died a few months ago so the rites were over and c)
that his mother was fine.
Ignoring these recommendations, the Delhi government went ahead and
granted Manu his parole for a
full month. It says now, by way of justification, that it relied on
the Chandigarh Police, who reported that there was no threat to law
and order in Chandigarh if Manu came there. The investigation of its
own police force was disregarded.
It gets worse. Not only did Manu get a month of parole on these bogus
grounds but the Delhi government then granted him yet another month of
parole even though by now it was staggeringly obvious that all of the
made-up reasons for requesting parole were humbug: Manu’s poor sick
mother was actually addressing press conferences and not lying in some
hospital bed.
And how did Manu regard his good fortune? Why, he did exactly the sort
of thing that got him into trouble in the first place. He went to a
bar in Delhi late one night and got into a brawl. When the police were
called, he fled.
How insensitive do India’s politicians have to be to not realise the
message such behaviour sends out to educated Indians? What we are
being told, in effect, is this: you may have got your guilty verdict,
but how does it matter? Our boy will be sprung from jail whenever we
like. He will still go to clubs and bars. And he will still get into
brawls. So there! You can stuff your SMS campaigns, internet petitions
and TV debates. We are politicians. We look after our own.
Can it be a coincidence that even after the case hit the headlines,
Opposition parties offered only a tepid response? There were no calls
for the chief minister to resign. No demands for fresh elections. No
jail bharo campaigns, etc.
When it comes to its children, the political class is united. It’s
them first. And it is the rest of us afterwards.
But I don’t think that any of us will let it be. We recognise what the
politicians are up to. They think that if they hold firm, the issue
will die down and all of us will find other things to worry about.
After all, they managed to get Manu out of jail without anyone
noticing. If the murderous idiot had not got involved in a bar brawl,
we wouldn’t even have realised that far from suffering in jail, he was
living it up at Delhi’s most exclusive clubs.
The politicians are wrong. This time — just like the last time — we
are not going to forget. We want to see justice done. We want
explanations. We want accountability. We want to see somebody
punished.
Because ultimately, justice is more important than politics.
Sid Harth
Opening their own closet
New Delhi, November 12, 2009
First Published: 00:55 IST(12/11/2009)
Last Updated: 00:58 IST(12/11/2009)
One of the most powerful bureaucrats in India owns just one car — a 10-
year-old Fiat. Vijay Shankar Pandey, an additional Cabinet secretary
in the country’s political powerhouse of Uttar Pradesh and one of the
most trusted aides of Chief Minister Mayawati, doesn’t have any cash
on himself either but his author wife Smita does — Rs 4,000 in all.
And there is Rs 1.17 lakh in the bank, and tax saving investments
worth Rs 2.5 lakh.But many among India’s 10,000-odd administrative and
police service officers, the backbone of governance, are believed to
own much more than 10-year-old Fiat cars.
To set an example, Pandey and four other officers — Sunil Kumar,
Renuka Kumar and Raju Sharma of the Indian Administrative Service
(IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Jasveer Singh — wrote on
November 6 to Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar, head of the civil
services, giving their wealth details, and also made them public on a
blog (www.declareyourassets.blogspot.com). It is a move that comes
alongside some unexpected and unprecedented developments related to
probity among India’s public figures — cleanup efforts by the
judiciary and an investigation into Rs 4,300 crore worth of allegedly
illegal wealth of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda. The five
officers who declared their assets are part of a low-profile anti-
corruption organisation called India Rejuvenation Initiative (IRI).
Its members include former Chief Justice of India R.C. Lahoti, former
Punjab Director General of Police Julio Rebeiro, former air force
chief S. Krishnaswamy, former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) J.M.
Lyngdoh, former Comptroller and Auditor General V.K. Shunglu and anti-
corruption campaigner and journalist Sharat Pradhan.
After the latest initiative, some other IAS officers are said to be
preparing to make their wealth public. Will it lead to something
bigger and have a cascading effect on enforcing transparency among
bureaucrats? Will that place Pandey alongside Karnataka High Court
Judge D.V. Shylendra Kumar, whose against-the-current stand on
declaring judges’ wealth eventually forced the Supreme Court to
declare judges’ wealth on the Internet? “If the judges have given in,
who are these people (IAS) to stand up? They will have to declare
their assets,” Lyngdoh told Hindustan Times. “They will try their best
to pull the strings — but eventually they will come around.”
The landmark decision by Supreme Court judges to declare their assets
came after a similar move by three men. Shylendra Kumar, a Karnataka
High Court judge, questioned Chief Justice of India K.G.
Balakrishnan’s right to oppose the declaration of assets on behalf of
all judges.
Soon after, Punjab and Haryana High Court judge M.K. Kannan uploaded
details of his wealth on the internet. Madras High Court judge K.
Chandru followed soon after.
“Much before the judges’ campaign started, we have been writing to the
Prime Minister saying that public service conduct rules should be
amended and all this should be in the public domain,” Shunglu said.
“It’s a different matter that no action has been taken by the
government,” he said. “Public servants are much more accountable on a
day-to-day basis.”
There are uncanny parallels between the approach that India’s judicial
leadership initially took and the stand that the top bureaucracy is
taking now.
A committee of secretaries of the central government is currently said
to be mulling over whether to make the audacious move to take the
personal assets of the bureaucracy out of the scope of public scrutiny
through the Right to Information. After a recent order of Chief
Information Commissioner (CIC) that would make IAS and IPS officers
annually declare their movable and immovable properties, the thorny
issue was referred to Chandrasekhar.
“I feel that transparency is a must in public administration and all
those who are paid by the public exchequer should not have any
hesitation in revealing their assets,” said Pandey, who sits in an
unassuming office that exudes simplicity but wields great power — on
the out-of-bounds fifth floor of the State Secretariat annexe in
Lucknow.
Singh, the IPS officer, suggested a law that covered everyone working
with public money — including non-government organisations, and that
the government set up an Accountability and Integrity Commission,
empowered to scrutinise those declarations of assets.
“Public servants mean both the politicians and the bureaucrats,” Singh
said. “The assets of all of them — right from a class-four (lower
ranking) employee to the Prime Minister of the country — should be
declared for public scrutiny.” The step has been widely
welcomed. But some believe India’s bureaucracy is far too hard-boiled.
“Honesty is an exception today rather than the norm,” said Magsaysay
award winner Sandeep Pandey. “I don’t see a movement for uprightness
among bureaucrats because of this campaign. Nevertheless, this is a
welcome step.”
Sid Harth
Encounters have our sanction too
Vir Sanghvi
September 12, 2009
First Published: 22:54 IST(12/9/2009)
Last Updated: 03:27 IST(13/9/2009)
There is something annoying and frustrating about the way in which the
Congress and the BJP are playing politics with the encounter that
resulted in the death of 19-year-old Ishrat Jahan and three of her
companions in Gujarat.
Going by everything we now know, here’s what happened:
The Gujarat Police were informed by central agencies that a team of
terrorists was on its way to the state. The police intercepted the
three men and the woman the intelligence agencies had described as
terrorists and interrogated them in custody for a day.
The following day, they shot all of them in cold blood and placed
their bodies in a car. They planted weapons in their lifeless hands
and then informed the media. According to the Gujarat Police, they had
intercepted the car carrying the terrorists. The terrorists had fired
at them. The police party had fired back and all the terrorists had
been killed.
The point is that we will never know whether they were terrorists. The
killings made it impossible for their guilt or innocence to be
established in a court of law.That the encounter was fake cannot be
disputed: the forensic evidence is too strong for that. All that can
be questioned is the claim — made by the magistrate who investigated
the encounter — that the people in the car were not terrorists to
begin with.
The Gujarat government says that even the Centre had agreed that they
were terrorists. And the Congress which cannot deny the central
government’s role in the encounter argues that a) the Centre only
repeated what the Gujarat Police had said and b) that whoever called
these people terrorists will now be punished.
The point is that we will never know whether they were terrorists. The
killings made it impossible for their guilt or innocence to be
established in a court of law. All we have is the intelligence
evidence and perhaps the information that emerged from the
interrogations. None of this is conclusive.
To go on and on about guilt or innocence in these circumstances is
worse than silly: it makes for petty politics. And it ignores the real
issues raised by the encounter.
First of all, the encounter reminds us of what we already know. When
Indian police forces believe that they are dealing with a terrorist,
they simply kill him or her without bothering with due process.
Are we prepared to live with the situation where a policeman is
prosecutor, judge and executioner?
Second, let’s not pretend that what happened in Gujarat occurred
because Narendra Modi is Chief minister. Policemen routinely kill
terror suspects in all Indian states. To politicise the killings may
win votes but it obscures the reality.
Third, the policy of encounters has broad public support. Conduct a
poll and ask people whether policemen should try and build cases
against terrorists, should persuade witnesses to testify and then wait
six years for the judgement or whether they should just bump them off
and a majority of Indians will prefer execution to prosecution.
Fourth, if we give our policemen the power to kill anybody they regard
as a terrorist, then are we not compromising the basis of our society?
We know now that encounter cops run berserk in India, killing innocent
people at will and building up huge fortunes for themselves. In
Bombay, such encounter specialists as Daya Nayak have been described
as millionaires. In Delhi, encounter ‘hero’ Rajbir Singh was revealed
posthumously to have been a crook who extorted money at gun-point.
Fifth, even if we give our policemen a licence to kill, shouldn’t we
at least stop them from telling blatant lies in an effort to win
medals for themselves? The encounter in which Ishrat was killed was
heavily hyped by the media and the cops who staged the incident were
lavishly praised for their ‘bravery’ in killing four dangerous
terrorists in a gun battle.
There are precedents. Some years ago, the Delhi Police brought two men
who were already in custody to Ansal Plaza and shot them in the
parking lot. Later they announced that they had foiled an attempt to
attack Diwali shoppers in one of Delhi’s busiest malls.
Should we allow matters to get to a stage where not only do the police
murder people in cold blood but they also lie to us so that we can
compliment them on their bravery?
Sixth: but policemen do have a legitimate position that must be
treated with sympathy. Look at it from the point of view of the cops.
I accept that many officers tell lies to win medals for themselves.
But there are also honest policemen who genuinely believe that a) the
best way to fight terrorism is to kill the terrorists and b) that they
have society’s sanction to do so.
But the truth is that society is hopelessly hypocritical. We want the
encounters to continue. But when we are confronted with the reality of
the murders committed on our behalf, we turn sanctimonious.
We demand that the policemen are punished. And we suddenly rediscover
human rights and the rule of law.
Why should some policeman who does our dirty work for us be sent to
jail only because we don’t have the guts to confront what we have
tacitly sanctioned when it emerges in the public domain?
And finally, there’s India’s past experience to consider. Do any of us
genuinely believe that we ended the Naxalite revolt in the early 70s
without killing Naxalites in cold blood? Do we really think that we
finished off the Punjab militancy without resorting to encounters?
The reality is that India has always fought political violence,
terrorism and militancy by trusting the police force’s discretion in
finding the guilty and them bumping them off quietly.
It’s a shocking position for a liberal society to take. But for better
or worse, this has been India’s position for several decades now.
As you can see, the issues are too complex for any simplistic pro-
encounter or anti-encounter position to prevail. There are strong
arguments on both sides. There are terrible dangers inherent in an
encounter policy. But there is also the lack of an alternative
approach and the fact that encounters have worked to consider.
Ideally, we should have the guts to look our encounter policy in the
eye and to confront the issues head-on so that everybody — policemen,
terrorists, lawyers and media — knows exactly where we stand.
But, of course, we do no such thing. We lose ourselves in hypocrisy
and doublespeak.
And when the politicians get involved, they only make matters worse by
trivialising the issues so that they can win votes.
(The views expressed by the author are personal.)
bademiyansubhanallah
Justice of the powerful
Santosh Desai Sunday November 15, 2009
Thank god for the media. Without its intervention, Manu Sharma would
have availed of a free pass for two months to visit more night clubs
and get into more brawls. But once he was spotted clubbing while
allegedly tending to an aging mother who of course was busy giving
press conferences, the resulting media-led outrage ensured that he
himself return to the relative safety of his prison cell. And while
the episode raises many questions about how the law bends in
supplication to the powerful, at least once the matter came to light,
the right thing was done. It was a miscarriage of justice, but
fortunately one without lasting or significant impact. One could even
argue that by turning the spotlight on the subject of parole and the
process it involves, some good might come out of this otherwise sordid
affair.
The trouble is, it’s not quite that simple. There are many layers to
the Manu Sharma affair and the all’s-well-that-ends-well view is a tad
premature and simplistic. While enough questions have been raised
about how he managed to get his parole application approved, perhaps
we should also reflect on the process by which justice was eventually
obtained. Had he not got into a brawl, he might not have been spotted
at all. More importantly, had the other party not been the son of the
highest ranking police officer in the city, none of the subsequent
events might have occurred. A phone call from the young man — who
presumably has no official standing — to his father, galvanized the
police force into action. The police commissioner’s son, it would
appear, has the entire police force as his security agency and a phone
call to daddy suffices to have it land up and use its power. In this
case, one of the offenders turned out to be someone legally out on
parole, but how do we know who the next target of this extra-legal use
of the police force will be?
Similarly, when media uses its considerable clout to shed light on
this episode, is it too in some way, throwing a tantrum reserved for
the powerful? Does it take the same interest in other cases across the
country where the powerful have their way? More importantly, by
throwing its considerable clout around the cases it chooses to focus
on, and forcing the system to act in a manner of its choosing, it
breeds a populist form of justice where presumption of suspicion by
media is seen to be tantamount to overriding proof of guilt. We have
seen this at work in many other cases, most notably that of Aarushi
Talwar, where the parents went through unimaginable pain thanks to a
presumptive media trial.
The reaction to the Manu Sharma case is typical of the blurring of the
notion of justice. Once his case came into the spotlight, everyone
connected with it became fair game for the media and the police.
Anyone can be accused and anyone can be detained for questioning. Take
the instance of Sharma’s friend who was questioned for his alleged
links to him. Now, what makes that a crime? Granted, Manu Sharma is a
convicted criminal but surely being friends with him is not a crime.
In any case, he was out on parole, however he may have obtained it, so
how can anyone accompanying him be culpable for anything? One may ask
in one’s individual capacity as to what kind of a person chooses
friends like these, but surely that has nothing to do with the law.
The role of public institutions like the bureaucracy, the judiciary
and the media cannot be to echo what is a popular sentiment merely
because it is popular. What we are seeing here is the appropriation of
the idea of justice by the powerful. If Manu Sharma benefited from an
informal network of justice created by the powerful, his come-uppance
too was the result of the same process. Remember, his parole — however
unconscionable morally — was legal. What makes this episode deeply
disturbing is not the gravity of the legal infraction Manu Sharma
committed in this case, but the failure of the justice system as a
whole. But what is even more worrying is that what we are calling
justice is in turn not much better, being founded on an equally
informal view of the law.
The real question is whether justice is an absolute ideal, that stands
above the pulls and pressures of current opinion and transient power.
When we blur the idea of justice with notions of fairness as one
section of society sees it, we create a system of informal justice
that is nothing but a contest between two powerful forces each
safeguarding its own interests. Justice becomes subject to market
forces, and the one with greater power wins. Here we have the forces
of politics, the bureaucracy and the media each trying to prevail in a
battle of the powerful, and each using means that are extra-legal.
When we enact laws and enforce them, as human beings we are playing
God. The only way we can presume to do so is if we are able to
artificially create a system much larger than us, one that is beyond
the reach of the transient, the expedient, the powerful and the
popular. This is difficult enough to achieve and unless we are
scrupulous in safeguarding the rights of all those protected by the
law, no matter who they are, justice will become another name for
vendetta and the more powerful will win every time. Justice may have
been delivered this time, but the idea of justice continues to be in
peril.
Comments(10)
Rated 4.7/5 (43 Votes)
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Disagree (1)
Sharda Bhargav - The Confiscated Soul says:
November 16, 2009 at 03:01 AM IST
Thanks media.
Media is the eyes and ears of the society, it has to keep watch on the
process of justice also to inform the people what is right and what is
wrong. Remain upright.
Agree (5)
Disagree (0)
PROBONOPUBLICO says:
November 16, 2009 at 04:01 AM IST
THE MAN ON LIFE SENTENCE FOR A MURDER NOW FALSIFIES AND GETS A
PAROLE..HIS FALSIFICATION CAN BE PROVED BEYOND DOUBT.SHOULD HE NOT BE
PUNISHED SPECIALLY FOR THIS..THIS WHAT IS REQUIRED IN THE INTERSTS OF
JUSTICE SEEMINGLY DONE
Agree (3)
Disagree (0)
Rajul N Desai says:
November 16, 2009 at 04:31 AM IST
Once again, a very crisp, timely piece.
Agree (5)
Disagree (0)
Rohit Pathak says:
November 16, 2009 at 10:38 AM IST
Media has done some good work, but I am afraid this is not a case
where it can take credit.I would have appreciated media's power if it
would have been able to prevent the parole. Secondly, the Delhi CM is
cocking a snook at people who asked her about the merits of granting a
parole and media is doing precious little about it. Looks like media
was in a slumber when the processing of Manu's parole application was
going on, and suddenly woke up when he misbehaved in a bar and then it
turned the heat on.
Agree (4)
Disagree (0)
Satbir Singh Bedi says:
November 16, 2009 at 12:26 PM IST
I agree that Justice is only for the powerful and the more powerful a
man is, particularly in terms of money, the more likely he is to get
justice. Poor people cannot afford to pay for the costly fee of a
lawyer and they often lose their case. What to talk of poor people,
even people of middle class like me cannot afford to get justice as
the fees of the lawyers who are really competent, are so high. In my
case, I feel that I have been not fairly treated by the last Pay
Commission in granting me pension but I cannot fight my case in a
Court of Law as the fees of a lawyer would be more than Rs.1 lakh for
fighting the case. So, what happens is that I keep quite. I neither
have the money nor the power to get justice. And I am not so poor. I
belong to the middle class. So, I agree that the more powerful or more
rich a person is, the more he is likely to get justice. Although media
is quite fair in taking up the cause of the middle class people and
even the poor people who are in urban areas, the people in the Adivasi
areas and remote areas get little attention and some stories do come
in the media but these stories come only when some tribals become
Maosists and really threaten the very idea of the State.
Agree (2)
Disagree (0)
S K Majumdar says:
November 16, 2009 at 02:33 PM IST
For long power has dictated our society. Things are changing and fast.
People in rural and forest India are rising. Because of such
miscarrige of justice, today we are having Maoist-the greatest
internal threat. This threat can be faught with justice. Other wise
let us enjoy many more Manu sharma.
Agree (0)
Disagree (0)
Lopamudra S says:
November 16, 2009 at 06:01 PM IST
Bull's eye! Amidst this clamouring, I really was expecting someone to
point this perspective.
Agree (1)
Disagree (0)
Vijay says:
November 16, 2009 at 06:14 PM IST
I absolutely agree with the author, absolute justice is just absolete
and is rather a myth than a reality. The best part however about this
is that it goes on without realisation until the time you are a part
of this trying desperately to convince yourself that you are not
living in a nightmare and it is happening for real. In case we have
seen the Manu Sharma episode we have seen nothing that is just a
glimpse of the shady justice process. There are a number of such
examples, where the actual accused have used the power at their
disposal be it political, gender, influential, false pretence, Money
etc to restrict the rights of the remaining rightful law abiding
citizens of this nation from exersicing their right for justice in
case a need arises. However that is not to be at least so far. The
process of justice generaly belongs to the powerful, the decietful and
very rarely there are instances of hope showered on the real justice
seeker. The ground reality is so harsh in real terms that a citizen
barely can live their lifetime without falling into the nightmare of
justice for the powerful. It is not a point to give up hope rather it
is an opportunity for the otherwise inluential media to exercise
itself and empower the deprived as they have done in past couple of
years however limited it was to the cases of interest, it did make a
difference. The citizens at the same time however feeble they are must
exersize their own powers at their disposal to fight the menance of
justice just for someone who can twist it his own way. This is a long
debate and editorial like this is a good start to wake up and shake
off the nightmare.
Agree (0)
Disagree (0)
AMAN says:
November 16, 2009 at 10:45 PM IST
The media has power, and it uses it maliciously. The few times that it
uses that power for a good cause, it gives itself a generous pat on
the back and goes back to reporting on which brainless starlet is
sleeping with which numbskull bozo.
Agree (1)
Disagree (0)
premji jairam babaria says:
November 17, 2009 at 10:40 PM IST
Any system which is designed politically to heal certain ills of the
society will inevitably fail to deliver the justice.Because the very
person who framed this system knows loopholes and take advantage as
they are powerful person politically and moneywise and they have clout
to act as per their whims because they themselves are exploiters.
Sid Harth
V.R. Krishna Iyer
Having more competent judges, not more number of judges, is the
solution to the persisting problem.
Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s
inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.
— Reinhold Niebuhr
When justice is denied by any society, including a socialist, secular
and democratic one as in India, expectations darken into depression.
Then that depression turns into dread, dread transforms itself into
despair and despair evolves into explosive terrorism. State violence
as an instrument to suppress terrorism is futile: after a time the
bitterness and revengefulness that is generated will seek to overthrow
those very forces that control state power — call it fasc ism,
naxalism, Maoism or whatever. This dangerous deterioration of
democracy into bedlam terrorism is hastened when access to justice
ceases to be a reality and the only alternative is violence. When the
rule of the robes proves a mirage, the rule of robbery gets support
and sanction.
The way to eliminate this ghastly syndrome is not more state force but
making the system of justice, justices and justicing truly accessible
to the have-nots by means of radical judicial reform that is
decentralised and democratic. If this does not become possible, the
suffering people may leave the courts and take to the streets. This
social strategy and humanism are what we need if noxious, nocent
violence is to surrender to truth, justice, equity and egalite, the
majestic values of the Mahatma. Rowlatt or Chowri Chowra or Naokhali,
or Gandhian courage — which do we need? Here is the critical issue. Is
our justice system jejune, and have the robes been robbed of their
reality?
How shall we transform our judicative process? The Executive has force
at its command and the Legislature is incompetent to make meaningful
laws but has the backing of the masses who voted for its members. The
judiciary has the bench to sit on and the authority of the
Constitution to back it. If its verdict is ignored, it has no means to
enforce its rulings. Sans justice, judges are powerless power.
What is wrong with our courts that they have lost their credibility
and prestige? Corruption has crept in. Forensic morals have been
jettisoned and no longer form their inviolable virtue. More than all
else, delay of dockets and Himalayan arrears frustrate the hope of
justice from the forensic process. While the system is accessible and
open to the rich and those from the creamy layer, the under-privileged
have no money and are priced out of the institution. The Bar, an
indispensable factor in the adversarial system, is too expensive for
the lowly and the forlorn. The fees and the formalities make the law
too dear for the have-nots. The hierarchy adds to the cost, the delay
and the uncertainty of the final verdict.
Appeals upon appeals make justice through litigation inordinately
dilatory and costly, and the law becomes the last means for the
aggrieved to get relief. One appeal is necessary, two is too much, but
we have four or five decks to spiral up. The litigant has only one
life but litigation has several lives to see its end. Judgments
typically take years to pronounce and some judges do not pronounce any
judgment at all. They would seem to be unaccountable since there is no
Performance Commission in operation.
Another great deficiency is that a collegium that is untrained in the
task, selects judges in secret and bizarre fashion. There could be
room for nepotism, communalism and favouritism in the absence of
guidelines. The selection process excludes the Executive. Nowhere in
the world do we have judges alone selecting other judges. The
collegium is a disaster: the P.D. Dinakaran episode is an example. A
new code by a constitutional chapter has become an imperative.
Appointment is a desideratum.
What we now have as weaknesses of the system is Parkinson’s Law and
Peter Principle. The first creates vacancies after mediocre judges
cause arrears to mount. The second elevates officers to the highest
level of their incompetence. Even if you have 10 times the present
number of judges, so long as there is no accountability, the arrears
will multiply, the judicial budget will escalate and the disgrace of
the judiciary will grow. A revolution is necessary and a sense of
scientific spirit and reason is needed if the judicature is not to
become a caricature, or a torture of the right to justice.
If our Founding Fathers are not to be betrayed, we need at once a
judicial-constitutional code including a scissoring of the
hierarchical syndrome. Or be prepared for a revolution. The unknown
collegium, judges expanding their own breed, creating arrears more
than anywhere else in the world, and other pathologies promoting a
self-operated system…
Is India so bereft of statesmanship that it cannot create a swadeshi-
swaraj judicature? A spiritual-natural synthesis carrying out Bharat
jurisprudence and justice system must be the operation of the next
Parliament.
Did not Jawaharlal Nehru assert that the Supreme Court is no third
chamber of the House? Did not Franklin D. Roosevelt tell the American
Supreme Court that if it did not serve the nation’s interest he will
pack the court? Let us not therefore allow the Indian courts to
refrain from the tryst with destiny or go back on the grand Preamble
of the Constitution. We, the People of India, shall not allow the
judges to produce a pathological syndrome of seppuku.
I am critical of the great institution of justice of which I was a
member during the best part of my life. But as Oliver Wendell Homes,
the great American judge, said while criticising his judicial system,
it would be less than fair if I do not constructively and correctively
criticise the system of which I was a part if I see some dark
drawbacks therein. My purpose is only to improve the system, never to
denigrate it.
The Berlin Wall has fallen. Leningrad and Stalingrad is no more on the
map of the Soviet Union. Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, prisoners
under the empire, have become Fathers of the Nations. Why not the
Indian judiciary, patterned after the British, change and become truly
swadeshi and Indian?
Judges have a heavy responsibility in the matter of chronic docket
arrears. Nowhere in the world except in India does litigation last up
to half a century in some instances. The art of fast disposal of cases
would seem to have become alien to the judges, who do not know the
strategy of having a brief hearing and delivering the judgment in a
few days. A leisurely, jocose and even bellicose style, a high-and-
mighty bearing, and slow and endless arguments are hampering the
competent performance of the judges. American judges allow half an
hour and no more. Look at the discipline that this writer showed in
the stay proceedings of the Indira Gandhi case. Originality,
imagination and talent have become scarce commodities. These are
mostly covered up by demands for 10 times more of incompetent judges
and none to expose them for fear of being hauled up for contempt.
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has been repeatedly urging that
we must have thousands more as members of the judiciary as the
solution to the problem of arrears. But that will only be a remedy
which could aggravate the malady. This is a mediocre recipe that could
prove counter-productive.
This view is supported by two great Indian jurists. M.C. Setalvad
commented in his autobiography My Life (1970) on the statement of Dr.
K.N. Katju, when he was Home Minister, that the “greater the number of
judges in court, the lesser the rate of disposal for each judge.
Though one may regard this as an overstatement, it is undoubtedly true
that a larger judicial personnel frequently makes the courts cumbrous
and slow moving." He added: "What is needed is the appointment of
really able persons who can rapidly and satisfactorily deal with the
accumulation of work."
Likewise, M.C. Chagla observed in Roses in December: “To my mind the
solution is simple. See that the men you appoint are proper ones. Find
judges with an alert and active mind. What is more important, pay the
judges better, give them a better pension, and enforce better
conditions of service. The usual solution put forward is to increase
the number of judges. But if the men selected are not really
competent, Parkinsons’ Law will come into play. The more the judges,
the greater will be the load of work."
It is time we had an effective executive which will call the bluff
when judges invent alibi to explain away their incompetence and
absence of integrity. An investigation into the entire higher
judiciary may well weaken our faith in the integrity and
incorruptibility of their lordships.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/02/stories/2009120255001000.htm
Sid Harth
Mahim Pratap Singh
Bhopal: Information obtained from several documents of the U.S. State
Department throws new light on the issue of extradition of Warren
Anderson, CEO of Union Carbide India Limited and prime accused in the
Union Carbide industrial disaster.
While the Right to Information (RTI) documents obtained by activists
from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) bring out bitter truths about
the tragedy, documents obtained from the U.S. State Department under
the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 1966, reveal more inconvenient
truths.
The interests and concerns of U.S. businesses over Mr. Anderson appear
to be a significant factor in the denial of his extradition by the
U.S. government.
For instance, in a letter written to U.S. State Department review
authority Archie M. Bolster (dated July, 24, 2003) by probably a U.S.
industry representative (writer’s name not clear), it is explicitly
stated that “the request [to extradite Mr. Anderson] should be
rejected. No issue has greater potential to destroy U.S. business
leaders’ confidence in India than the handling of the Warren Anderson
case.” It also states that the extradition request was “sheer
hypocrisy” and that its “chilling effect on American investment abroad
cannot be overstated.”
Another letter written by Linda Jacobson, Assistant Legal Adviser of
the U.S. Law Enforcement and Intelligence Department, to Thomas J.
Donohue, president and CEO of U.S. Chamber of Commerce, says: “We are
aware of the importance of this issue to the U.S. business community…
we have learned a great deal about the concerns of the Union Carbide
and the U.S. business community… we have also received and reviewed
written documentation from the private sector related to these
concerns.”
So is Mr. Anderson liable to be extradited at all? “Well, liable yes.
It will be difficult. But there are several instances where Mr.
Anderson has made statements that suggest individual responsibility,”
says Rajan S. Sharma, Lead Counsel for the plaintiffs in the U.S.
against the Union Carbide Corporation. “For instance, he once said in
a press conference in the U.S. that had he known that the plant was
unsafe, he would have shut it down himself,” says Mr. Sharma.
Also, according to Mr. Sharma, on the question of “sabotage by a
disgruntled worker,” Mr. Anderson had said that it was his
responsibility to ensure that the plant functioned in a way that would
not allow any sabotage.
Other documents obtained under the FOIA suggest that the Indian
government might not have pursued Mr. Anderson’s extradition on a
priority basis.
Unclassified documents prepared by the U.S. Consul in Mumbai, dated
July 26, 2004, mention the advice of the Attorney-General of India in
2001 Soli Sorabjee to the government that “efforts should not be made
to extradite Mr. Anderson as there was inadequate evidence to link him
directly to the cause of the gas leak.”
It says, “GOI [government of India] officials may feel that, for
political reasons, they need to be perceived as being concerned about
extraditing Mr. Anderson. Although this does not currently appear to
be a high priority bilateral issue for the GOI.”
On June 7, 2004, when the U.S. government rejected GOI’s request to
extradite Mr. Anderson, experts voiced concerns over the decision and
article 2(1) of the Indo-U.S. extradition treaty as its basis, which
requires the person to be extradited to be charged with an offence for
which he could be punishable in the U.S. for more than a year.
Culpable homicide, for which Mr. Anderson was charged in India, was
equivalent to manslaughter in the U.S. for which a person could be
punished for more than a year (Frontline, October, 2004). So, where
the case is headed? “We are surely making progress. For instance, the
Union Carbide has changed its arguments. Earlier they said that the
case could not be tried in U.S. courts. Now they are ready for trial.
They, however, maintain that UCC is not responsible for the actions of
its Indian subsidiary,” says Mr. Sharma.
Now that much has been communicated by high officials of the two
countries regarding Mr. Anderson’s extradition, interests of the U.S.
business community in the matter and India Inc’s more than vocal
support to Dow Chemical in its efforts to get itself absolved of the
responsibility of cleaning up the Union Carbide factory premises and
the area around it, it needs to be seen if the Indian government
toughens its stand on Anderson’s extradition.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/02/stories/2009120256652200.htm
Sid Harth
A security guard is silhouetted against defunct machinery at the Union
Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal. AP
IANS
First Published : 01 Dec 2009 04:16:09 PM IST
Last Updated : 01 Dec 2009 05:12:00 PM IST
BHOPAL: The waste left behind at the Union Carbide factory that was
closed 25 years ago after a fatal gas leak is continuing to poison
people around the plant, says the Centre for Science and Environment
(CSE).
"Latest tests show that groundwater in areas even three km from the
factory contains almost 40 times more pesticides than Indian
standards," CSE Director Sunita Narain said here Tuesday, a day before
the 25th anniversary of the gas leak that killed 3,500 people at once
and maimed thousands more.
The pollution monitoring lab of the Delhi-based think tank, CSE, has
tested water and soil samples from in and around the closed factory
and found high concentrations of pesticides and heavy metals inside
the factory as well as in the groundwater outside.
Union Carbide used to manufacture three different kinds of pesticides
at Bhopal: Carbaryl (trade name Sevin), Aldicarb (trade name Temik)
and a formulation of Carbaryl and gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (trade
name Sevidol).
While it was the raw material for Sevin, methyl isocyanate, that
leaked on the night of Dec 2-3, 1984, all three pesticides used toxic
heavy metals like mercury and chromium, most of which are persistent
in the soil and groundwater.
"One water and eight soil samples were collected from various places
inside the factory in October this year and 11 more water samples came
from locations outside -- from colonies next to the factory's boundary
to those 3.5 km away and toxins were found in the groundwater checked
from almost 3 km from the factory," CSE Associate Director Chandra
Bhushan said at a press conference.
"All 11 groundwater samples collected from colonies around the factory
were found to be contaminated with chlorinated benzene compounds and
organochlorine pesticides. Carbamates were found in four samples. The
concentration of pesticides was 1.1 to 38.6 times higher than the
Indian standard," he said.
"Also, the profile of chemicals found within the factory and in its
waste disposal site matched the chemicals found in the groundwater
sample in the colonies outside. There is no other source of these
chlorinated benzene compounds and pesticides other," Narain said.
"Our findings suggest that the entire site is highly contaminated. The
waste stored within the factory is a small part of the total
contamination present in the site. The focus of the government to just
dispose off the stored waste and ignore the site contamination problem
is, therefore, not going to solve the environmental problems from the
UCIL factory."
Narain explained: "The factory site in Bhopal is leading to chronic
toxicity -- continuous tiny exposure leading to poisoning of our
bodies. This is different from acute poisoning and so the claim that
the factory is not dangerous because people can touch the waste is
misleading."
The problem, CSE says, is that the chemicals present in the soil of
the factory are leaching into the groundwater and leading to slow
poisoning of residents.
The health impact of this slow poisoning will be enormous, she said,
adding that Chlorinated benzene compounds (such as di- and tri-
chlorobenzene) can affect and damage the liver and blood cells, while
organochlorine pesticides can lead to cancers and bone defects.
Health impacts of Carbaryl and Aldicarb include damage to the brain
and nervous system and chromosomal abnormalities.
CSE researchers have found that people living around the factory
continue to suffer from diseases ranging from chronic ailments to
abnormalities. No one, however, is certain how much of it is related
to the gas release and how much has been exacerbated because of
continuing exposure to toxins.
"The Indian Council for Medical Research was asked to conduct long-
term epidemiological research right after the disaster, but these
studies were summarily discontinued in 1994. The initial reports
suggested long-term and deadly health effects on the survivors,"
Narain recalled.
"The entire site of the factory needs to be carefully checked and
cleaned up. The cost of such an operation will be very high. Who will
pay for this continuing environmental damage?" she asked.
"Dow Chemical Company, which has bought over Union Carbide, says it is
not responsible. It wants the high court to delete it from the list of
respondents. Based on letters accessed by RTI activists, it is also
clear that there is pressure to dilute the liability of Dow Chemicals,
arguing that the company had nothing to do with Union Carbide India
Limited, which operated the plant."
This cannot be acceptable, she said, adding: "The toxins we have found
in the factory are related to the production process of the plant. It
is clear that Union Carbide was dumping its waste -- of chemicals and
pesticides -- in the factory compound over the years it operated the
factory. Dow must be held responsible.
"Its own annual report shows that it has taken on the liability of
Union Carbide in the case of asbestos exposure in the US. Why is it
denying this responsibility in India?"
Sid Harth
People carry potable water collected from inside the premises of Union
Carbide factory in Bhopal. The Bhopal gas tragedy killed about 4,000
people. AP
IANS
First Published : 30 Nov 2009 03:06:30 PM IST
Last Updated : 30 Nov 2009 03:09:10 PM IST
BHOPAL: Bhopal gas disaster victims Monday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker
Meira Kumar and Vice President Hamid Ansari, the Rajya Sabha chairman,
saying parliament should pay homage to the hundreds of thousands
affected by the tragedy 25 years ago.
"We would like to remind you that on the night of 02/03 December 1984,
over two-thirds of the 900,000 residents of the city of Bhopal were
exposed to highly toxic gases that escaped from the premises of Union
Carbide India Ltd, which was controlled by the Union Carbide Corp, a
US multinational company," they said in the letter.
"We, hereby, humbly urge you to take the initiative in ensuring that
the members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha would, on this occasion,
pay homage to the victims of the world's worst chemical disaster."
Abdul Jabbar, convenor of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog
Sanghathan (BGPMUS), and N.D. Jayprakash, co-convenor of the Bhopal
Gas Peedit Sangharsh Sahayog Samiti (BGPSSS), sent the letter
separately to Meira Kumar and Ansari.
It also expressed hope that the members of the houses would prevail
upon the government of India to make amends for its past mistakes
related to the tragedy.
The letter, which mentions the tragedy, its aftermath, the inadequate
compensation and improper rehabilitation, also speaks about the
adverse health impact that continues to dog the victims.
The claim courts in Bhopal have determined that 574,367 victims had
suffered injuries in varying degree causing the untimely death of
several thousands.
"The grievousness of the injuries suffered by the victims are such
that even 25 years after the disaster no less than 6,000 victims
continue to visit hospitals every day due to disaster-related
ailments," the letter said.
Progenies of gas victims appear to be suffering from genetic effects
and, reportedly, there is a rise in cancer cases of various kinds, it
adds. The letter further mentions that what is equally worse is that
each gas victim was in fact awarded less than one-fifth of what he or
she was eligible to receive as per the terms of settlement, which
itself was a paltry sum compared to the magnitude and gravity of the
disaster.
"What is equally worse is that the settlement amount of $470 million,
which was determined on the assumption that there were only about
105,000 gas victims, including 3,000 dead, was actually disbursed to
574,367 gas victims, including over 15,000 dead," it says.
The next of kin of each of the dead were awarded a sum of Rs.200,000
on an average and each of the injured was awarded a sum of Rs.50,000
on an average. However, none of the gas victims was paid interest for
the period of delay in the award of compensation despite the fact the
process of adjudication of claims stretched from 1992 to 2006, that is
eight to 22 years after the disaster.
Moreover, the accused officials of Union Carbide are yet to be
punished for their criminal negligence that led to the tragedy.
"In fact, the government of India has made little effort to bring
prime accused Warren Anderson and concerned officials of accused
companies Union Carbide Corporation and Union Carbide Eastern to face
trial in India," it says.
"Instead, the government of India is doing all it can to please Dow
Chemical Co, the present owners of Union Carbide Corp."
chhotemianinshallah
By: Sathyu Sarangi
Karen Haydock
Many of the battles begun 25 years ago, in the aftermath of
catastrophe, continue today.
When I arrived in Bhopal soon after the disaster, I was rather
unprepared. Rushing to the city from the small town four hours away
where I worked in an NGO, I had very little information (the news on
the government-run radio station had drastically downplayed the
tragedy), almost no local contacts and only a hundred-odd rupees in my
pocket. I had along a few changes of clothes, because I didn’t think
I’d be staying in the city for much more than a week, helping out with
emergency relief.
The previous day, in the early hours of 3 December 1984, 40 tonnes of
toxic methyl isocynate (MIC) and other lethal gases were accidentally
released from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal that manufactured the
pesticide Sevin. Later investigation pointed to water having entered
and raising the temperature inside the storage tanks, thus leading to
the deadly gas bursting from tanks that were not designed to manage
under such pressure. The magnitude of the disaster was not fully known
at the time; indeed, some of the impact is still coming to light 25
years later.
The day after the gas leak, the train to Bhopal was nearly empty, and
the few on it seemed to have no knowledge of what had really happened
at their destination. Yet as soon as I walked out of the railway
station, I could see thousands of people in utter pain – their eyes
swollen, tears streaming down their cheeks, huddled together with
family and friends. I saw some attempting to walk with unsteady steps,
before falling down – whether unconscious or dead, I didn’t try to
figure out. The railway station was just 1.5 kilometres from the Union
Carbide plant, all of which was surrounded by densely populated
communities that were badly affected by the leak.
The enormity of the pain all around, and my helplessness to offer any
kind of assistance, was numbing. I just stood at the station exit and
stared. My head and hands finally began to work again when I saw
hundreds of people helping the victims. Young and old, mostly men,
from various social and religious organisations and many more
unaffiliated, were busy caring for the survivors. A bus stop just
outside the railway station had become a medical relief camp, where
survivors could get milk, fruit, water and words of comfort.
Medical supplies were limited to eye drops and antacids to deal with
the burning sensation in the eyes and stomach, and tablets for
breathlessness. Knowing that these were of little help, however, most
of the volunteers in the area were focused on carrying survivors to
passing vehicles, to be taken to the nearby Hamidia Hospital. I joined
them for a while, and then decided to continue into one of the
neighbourhoods near the station. There, I found the situation to be
much worse. Open a door at random, and you were apt to see an entire
family sprawled on the floor – some unconscious, some groaning, only a
few able to talk. I went back to the main street and soon had more
than 50 volunteers join me in carrying people from their homes,
lifting them into passing vehicles. Not one of the drivers of these
cars, trucks or autorickshaws refused to take the victims to the
hospital; there was always room for another survivor.
The evening sky on my first day in Bhopal was lit up by the mass
cremation pyres that I was told had been burning non-stop since the
previous day. I met a man whose hands were covered with blisters. He
lived next to a Muslim graveyard. Not knowing what else to do, he
didn’t stop digging mass graves for three days and three nights,
unmindful of what the work was doing to his unpractised hands. I must
have been in a similar state of mind. It was only several days later
that I began to make some sense amidst the chaos and uncertainty: Is
the water safe to drink? Is the food okay to eat? Many mothers died,
many aborted as they ran, but what of the unborn babies who had no
place to escape to from the poison clouds, were they okay? And I found
things to do amidst the millions that needed to be urgently done.
No faith
In those apocalyptic moments no one knew what was happening. People
simply started dying in the most hideous ways. Some vomited
uncontrollably, went into convulsions and fell dead. Others choked to
death, drowning in their own body fluids. Many died in the stampedes
through narrow gullies where street lamps burned a dim brown through
clouds of gas. The force of the human torrent wrenched children’s
hands from their parents’ grasp. Families were whirled apart. The
poison cloud was so dense and searing that people were reduced to near
blindness. As they gasped for breath its effects grew ever more
suffocating. The gases burned the tissues of their eyes and lungs and
attacked their nervous systems. People lost control of their bodies.
Urine and faeces ran down their legs. Women lost their unborn children
as they ran, their wombs spontaneously opening in bloody abortion.
– From the “Bhopal Medical Appeal”, 1994
Through chance encounters and word-of-mouth I met with local students,
activists and social and political workers, as well as volunteers like
myself who had come to Bhopal from elsewhere. Overnight, an
organisation committed to the people’s struggle for rehabilitation and
justice was formed. Three individuals – an activist scientist, a
lawyer and the chief functionary of a left political party – were
chosen to lead the new group, which almost automatically began to
attract victims into its fold.
Several other newly formed organisations were active in distributing
relief material, carrying out preliminary medical research and running
emergency clinics. Despite this good and crucial work, however,
internecine conflicts were already becoming palpable, as ideological
differences and personality clashes between the leaders prevented a
coordinated response. Our organisation focused on mobilising survivors
to demand their rights to health care and rehabilitation, collecting,
generating and disseminating medical information, and garnering
national and international support.
Soon after, we heard that a German toxicologist had arrived in Bhopal
with 10,000 ampoules of sodium thiosulphate, which when administered
intravenously assisted in the excretion of toxins ingested during the
gas leak and thus provided relief. Yet while the ampoules were quickly
distributed among government officials and the people they knew, the
director of health services, apparently apprehensive of possible side
effects, had passed an edict against administering it to common
survivors. Yet our own research, with much help from scientist
friends, showed that there were no side effects, and that sodium
thiosulphate could indeed be effective in removing poisons circulating
in the bloodstream – thus saving lives of thousands, especially unborn
babies.
But there was no room for scientific debate in the heated environment,
or in the face of vested interests. Union Carbide did not want the
sodium thiosulphate to be administered and the after-effects
monitored, because that would establish that the gases had injured not
just the eyes and lungs (as the corporation wanted people to believe)
but almost all the organs, by getting into the bloodstream. Those of
us who managed to administer sodium thiosulphate through clinics we
set up were arrested. In those first years, medical issues in Bhopal
were deeply political.
Meanwhile, the dumping of dead bodies by the local authorities, in
their effort to downplay the effects of the disaster, quickly became
common knowledge. The combination of factors – inadequate safety
systems, poor maintenance of the plant, as well as faulty design and
practices – all pointed to criminal negligence on the part of Union
Carbide and its management. But the release on bail of Warren
Anderson, then the chairman of Union Carbide, who visited Bhopal four
days after the disaster, followed by his being escorted out of Bhopal
under tight security the same day, was confirmation that the
government was colluding with the corporation.
We were also unsuccessful in stopping Operation Faith, the state
government’s plan, less than two weeks after the disaster, to allow
Union Carbide to manufacture pesticides from the chemicals left behind
in the leaking tank. Our attempts along these lines included
highlighting the testimony of scientists detailing how methyl
isocynate, the raw material used to manufacture the pesticide, could
be neutralised safely with caustic soda. However, we were just a few
people, and government officials had more faith in Union Carbide’s
science. So we helplessly watched thousands and thousands of people
leave their homes, fleeing again from the city before the factory was
restarted. A number of survivor activists we had befriended stayed
behind with us to guard their neighbourhood from thieves, including
policemen, who had begun to steal things from abandoned homes. Sitting
around log fires through the night, armed with wet rags for possible
emergency use, we shared stories and ruminated in clichés about life,
death and the meaning of it all.
Operation Faith was started with much fanfare. As pesticide production
resumed in the factory, a government helicopter sprayed water from the
sky, jute screens were placed above the factory walls and water
tankers sprayed water along major streets. Survivors commented that
the jute screens would not even stop bidi smoke, let alone any leaking
gases, and wondered whether the gases would follow the wet roads.
Another drama was also on display at that time. On the road leading to
the factory, workers from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and
other Hindu fundamentalist organisations marched alongside a truck in
which a havan (the burning of wood, incense and ghee) was being
performed, claiming that it would purify the poisoned air. We
successfully stopped this procession before it could reach anywhere
near the factory.
Ironically, the same government that announced Operation Faith by
stating there was no cause for panic simultaneously mobilised buses
from throughout the state to carry people away. Meanwhile, the
government move that had dispersed the people who were beginning to
organise was not entirely successful. Our first mass mobilisations
began in the relief camps set up in another part of the city for those
driven out of their homes. The camps were places where people from
different neighbourhoods came together and shared their suffering and
anger towards both Union Carbide and the uncaring government of Madhya
Pradesh. Here, people talked about the ‘big picture’, the plunder and
pillage for profit and the government’s collusion with corporations.
They also discussed the many ways that the common people could change
this, ranging from exposure of their crimes to linking up with other
victimised communities to fight legal and extra-legal battles.
Basti education
It was interesting to see how the disaster and its aftermath quickly
became a crash course in politics related to corporations and
governments, confirming and elaborating long-held wisdoms and
convictions. The role of governments and their attitude towards common
citizens, self-serving politicians, factory management that did not
care about workers and other people’s lives, the poor being forced to
fight for their rights – such issues were suddenly being discussed on
every street corner of Bhopal. As such, when supplies to the camps
were suddenly cut off and the camps were wound up within a week of the
disaster, we marched with several hundred survivors demanding that
Governor K M Chandy request urgent help from the central government.
Instead of additional help, however, there came orders to close down
the relief camps because, ostensibly, Operation Faith was over and the
government thought that people should now go back to their own homes.
As the first few weeks went by, there remained little doubt that, left
to its own devices, the Madhya Pradesh government would continue to
neglect survivors, and also that it would take far more than a few
hundred people marching on the Bhopal seat of power to have it
respond. Meanwhile, Union Carbide was in full swing with its public-
relations campaign. Senior corporate officials were busy telling the
world’s media that the leaked gases were similar to a potent tear gas,
and thus unlikely to cause lasting damage. Medical professionals were
flown in to Bhopal by the corporation – not to help with the treatment
of those exposed, but rather to endorse the corporate view in press
conferences. It was not just the magnitude and complexity of the
unfolding disaster that was overwhelming; dealing with Union Carbide’s
deceit and denial was equally challenging.
Then there were the American lawyers who began to descend on Bhopal.
Through local agents, they began getting survivors to sign retainer
forms – forms that many could hardly see through swollen eyes, let
alone read the English-language fine print that promised up to 40
percent of any eventual compensation money to individual lawyers, as
fees. As competition grew among these lawyers, they began doling out
blankets and then cash to entice their new clients, all promising
millions of dollars in eventual compensation.
With so much going on, and so much to be vigilant about, there was
little time to ponder my own future plans. Questions as to whether,
how and how long to stay on in Bhopal never entered my mind. Thanks to
donations from local, national and international supporters, the
volunteers had places to sleep and adequate meals; but we spent most
of our time in the bastis, in the communities of survivors we had by
then befriended. Perhaps this sounds odd, but amidst all the sadness
these evenings were quite enjoyable, with people occasionally singing
songs, playing music and sharing stories full of rare humour.
Kaarbaaid condemnation
Warren Anderson: Wanted in Indian courts
Karen Haydock
During the third week in Bhopal, we began preparations for a march to
Chief Minister Arjun Singh’s house. We decided to have it on the 3
January 1985, a month after the disaster, which we would observe as
Dhikaar Divas (Condemnation Day). This would be an opportunity to
publicly challenge the state government’s criminal neglect of the
survivors, and to demand that it make arrangements for immediate
health care and relief for survivors suffering from eye problems,
respiratory difficulties, immune and neurological disorders, cardiac
problems, lung injury and female reproductive difficulties. As we
moved from house to house, from one neighbourhood to the next, we
found that the local people did not need much convincing – it was only
desperate health problems that would stop most of them from joining
the rally.
The march began with a few hundred people near the now-closed Union
Carbide factory. As we proceeded, more and more groups of people
holding hand-scrawled banners and chanting slogans joined the march.
By the time we had covered half the distance (four km) in about two
hours, the march had swelled to over 10,000 people. Our procession was
far from orderly – people were everywhere and traffic stood still.
There were so many slogans being chanted by so many groups that it
wasn’t possible to hear any one in particular; but what was clear was
that these cries came from deep-seated anger and despair. People kept
joining in waves, such that by the time we walked up the hill to the
chief minister’s palatial, heavily guarded house, there were over
15,000 survivors in attendance – far too many for the police to
handle.
Once we arrived, we sought a meeting with the chief minister, which
was not granted. So, after consulting the many community leaders who
had been active in organising the march, we decided to sit on a dharna
outside the chief minister’s residence until he agreed to meet us.
People determined enough to face any eventuality cheered the decision,
and thousands of voices asserted that we would not move until the
chief minister agreed to our demands.
Thus began one of my most memorable weeks in Bhopal. Among the rocks
and bushes on the hillside outside of the chief minister’s residence,
people found places to sit in small groups. Soon, some began to look
for wood and to light small fires, and teams were sent to bring food.
In the bastis, women breathless and choking more than usual with the
fumes from wood stoves were making chapattis, not just for their own
families but for strangers as well. Families with so little to give
were caring for orphaned children who had joined the dharna. Truck
drivers were helping to transport food, firewood and groups of people
from the shanties – slipping away from their delivery runs,
unbeknownst to the vehicle owners. Children found new friends to play
with, and together they would chant the slogans they had begun to
learn: “Dolaar kee chaal ne, zahar gholaa Bhopaal mein” (Greed for
dollars spews poison over Bhopal) and “Kaarbaaid ke khunee panje tod
do marod do” (Carbide has blood on its hands. Break them! Destroy
them!). A few volunteer doctors were tending to the sick, and there
was always a team ready to carry people to the hospital.
Before nightfall, electricians from among the marchers had rigged up
connections to the streetlights, which would power loudspeakers used
for announcements regarding logistics and updates on the ongoing
negotiations with the chief minister and bureaucrats working closely
with him. Soon, the loudspeakers also became central for people
speaking out. Breathless poets recited poems of dignity and courage;
women who had rarely left their thresholds or showed their faces to
strangers articulated their anger against a foreign company and a
complicit state government.
Indeed, the entire area around the chief minister’s house was
transformed, and I was happy to find the time to absorb this magic. It
became a place of bustling human activity, intense communication and,
most of all, a powerful assertion of the collective spirit of survival
and cooperation. By the third day of our dharna, the state government
began to give way. Arjun Singh initially agreed to a meeting with a
delegation of the leaders, but this proved unacceptable to the mass,
who insisted that he speak to all of them. Finally he relented and
appeared before the survivors, several thousand of whom were invited
into his residence. Of course, he did not agree to all of their
demands, but survivors were more confident than before that the
government could be made to listen to them. After the week-long siege,
we had to fight other battles.
Contamination and community
Thus began my long involvement with the survivors of the Bhopal gas
leak. In early-1986, I left the Zahreeli Gas Kand Sangharsh Morcha
(Poisonous Gas Disaster Struggle Committee) and founded the Bhopal
Group for Information and Action. Given the intensely political nature
of health issues, it was some time before we could set up the
Sambhavna Trust, but this was finally done in 1995 with individual
donations, tasked with providing treatment to survivors and also
conducting medical research.
But today the issues still remain; the tragedy is still being played
out. Besides respiratory problems, organ failure and major disaster-
related injuries, the next and future generations are bearing the
brunt of genetic malformations. On a day-to-day basis, contaminated
water and toxins are being leached into the soil from the abandoned
factory, and thus are a continuing nightmare for survivors. As such,
there is no easing off from campaigning for the clean-up of the
factory, where sacks of dangerous chemicals continue to be stacked.
Yet while the government of Madhya Pradesh and Dow Chemical squabble
over who is responsible, the groundwater continues to be poisoned.
There are larger issues in play here, as well. Along with raising
issues of the gas leak and specific demands against Dow Chemicals and
the Indian government, we have campaigned for corporate
accountability, punishing corporate crime, public access to
information on industrial activity, inherently unsafe technologies and
products, and regulation of corporate activities.
I can’t remember exactly when it was, but some time in that week of
dharna I decided to be part of this community of suffering, sharing
and hope. Not once in the last 25 years have I ever regretted that
decision.
Sathyu Sarangi is a metallurgical engineer who founded the Bhopal
Group for Information and Action (BGIA), and is founder trustee of the
Sambhavna Trust.
In the early hours of 2-3 December 1984, the Union Carbide factory in
Bhopal accidentally spewed forth tonnes of toxic methyl-isocyanate
(MIC) gas. In what has been described as the ‘Hiroshima of the
chemical industry’, thousands died and hundreds of thousands were
injured. The after-effects continue to date, with future generations
bearing the burden of genetic malformations and contaminated
groundwater. The paltry compensation, and denial of accountability by
Dow Chemical (the corporation that now owns UCC), represents one of
the greatest travesties of justice. Below is a brief re-cap of the
accident and its deadly aftermath.
1969: The Union Carbide India, Limited (UCIL) factory is established
in Bhopal; 50.9 percent owned by Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) and
the rest by various Indian investors, including public-sector
financial institutions. It produces the pesticide carbaryl (brand-
name: Sevin).
1979: A methyl-isocyanate production plant is added to the site.
2-3 Dec 1984: Twenty-seven tonnes of methyl isocyanate are
accidentally released at midnight. The six safety systems designed to
contain such a leak are all non-operational, thus allowing the gas to
spread throughout the city of Bhopal. The MIC tank alarms have not
worked for the previous four years.
Half a million people are exposed to the gas. Between 8000 and10,000
people die within the first few days, and 20,000 die over the
following 25 years as a result of their exposure. Today, more than
120,000 people still suffer from ailments caused by the accident and
the subsequent pollution at the plant site. The causes of deaths are
choking, circulatory collapse, lung collapse, cerebral oedema, kidney
and liver damage. The stillbirth rate thereafter increases by up to
300 percent, and neonatal mortality rate by 200 percent.
16 Dec 1984: Tanks 611 and 619 at the plant are emptied of the
remaining MIC as part of Operation Faith, leading to a mass exodus
from Bhopal.
1985: The government of India passes the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster
(Processing of Claims) Act, enabling the government to represent all
victims in or outside India.
1989: A settlement is reached under which UCC agrees to pay USD 470
million (the insurance sum, plus interest) in a full and final
settlement of its civil and criminal liabilities – an agreement for
which the survivors had not been consulted. The compensation amounts
to about USD 500 per affected person – barely five years worth of
medical bills. In 1991, the Supreme Court is to uphold the settlement
and dismiss activist petitions.
1991: A local court in Bhopal charges Warren Anderson, Union Carbide’s
CEO at the time of the disaster, with manslaughter. If tried in India
and convicted, he faces a maximum of ten years in prison. However
Anderson, who has been declared a fugitive, has never stood trial
before an Indian court.
1993: The US Supreme Court dismisses an appeal of the decision of the
lower federal courts, thus closing the doors for victims of the Bhopal
disaster from seeking damages in a US court.
1998: The Supreme Court of India directs UCC, which had wanted to sell
its shares in UCIL, to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care
of the survivors. Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre is
subsequently inaugurated the same year, obliged to give free care to
survivors for eight years.
1999: Greenpeace reports that soil and water in and around the plant
are contaminated by organochlorines and heavy metals. A February 2002
study subsequently finds mercury, lead and organochlorines in the
breast milk of women living near the plant. The children of gas-
affected women are subject to a frightening array of debilitating
illnesses, including retardation, gruesome birth defects and
reproductive disorders.
1999: A civil case against UCC is filed in US court, seeking a
comprehensive clean-up of the contaminated site and the properties
around the factory, as well as compensation and medical monitoring for
those poisoned by Union Carbide’s chemical waste.
2001: Dow Chemical purchases Union Carbide, thereby acquiring its
assets and liabilities. However, Dow Chemical has steadfastly refused
to clean up the site, provide safe drinking water, compensate the
victims, or disclose the composition of the gas leak – information
that doctors could use to properly treat the victims. Dow sets aside
USD 2.2 billion to pay off former Union Carbide asbestos workers in
Texas, but has consistently maintained that it is not liable for the
Bhopal accident.
2004: The Supreme Court of India orders the Indian government to
release any remaining settlement funds to victims. The fund is
believed to amount to USD 500 million after earning interest “from
money remaining after all claims had been paid”.
2004: On the 20th anniversary of the disaster, a man claiming to be a
Dow representative is interviewed on the BBC. Immediately after he
states that the company has agreed to clean up the site and compensate
those harmed in the incident, Dow’s share price falls 4.2 percent in
23 minutes – a loss of USD 2 billion in market value. (The
‘representative’ is actually a member of the activist prankster group,
The Yes Men.)
Current concerns: About 50,000 Bhopalis cannot work due to their
injuries. About 200,000 children were exposed to the gases, and
medical relief remains a major concern: for people born since the
disaster who suffer from gas- and water-poisoning, for adequate
compensation for past medical bills and loss of livelihood, and for
clean-up of the factory, which continues to poison nearby land and
drinking-water supplies.
-Editors
http://www.himalmag.com/December-1984_nw3933.html
chhotemianinshallah
Agencies
Posted: Dec 02, 2009 at 1853 hrs IST
New Delhi Paying condolences to the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas
leakage, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh affirmed on Wednesday that his
government's commitment to addressing all issues connected to the
tragedy, including safe drinking water and expeditious clean-up of the
site.
In a statement here on 25th anniversary of the leakage at Union
Carbide pesticide plant, Singh said the government owes it to citizens
to put in place "procedures and precautions" to ensure that such a
tragedy never occurs again.
"Twenty five years ago, the country woke up to a terrible tragedy in
Bhopal... I share the grief of those affected by this horrible
incident," he said about the mishap in which 5000 people were killed
and many others incapacitated permanently.
"The enormity of that tragedy of neglect still gnaws at our collective
conscience," he said.
Noting that the families which suffered and lost their dear ones can
never really be fully compensated, he said, however, the government
has implemented several measures to provide relief to them, including
improvement in their living conditions and socioeconomic and medical
rehabilitation.
"Those affected by the catastrophe deserve our continuing support and
sympathy," Singh said.
"I reaffirm our Government's commitment to resolving issues of safe
drinking water, expeditious clean-up of the site, continuation of
medical research, and any other outstanding issues connected with the
Bhopal Gas Tragedy," he said.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Bhopal-gas-tragedy-PM-promises-to-address-all-issues/549067/
Sid Harth
The issues raised by a two-judge bench have the potential to undo many
reformative steps taken by the apex court
M J Antony / New Delhi December 02, 2009, 0:27 IST
Judicial activism has faced several assaults from politicians and
bureaucrats ever since the Supreme Court became affirmative. But the
sad part is that it has had to also face onslaughts from within.
When the public interest litigation movement was in its infancy, a
bench of strict constructionists one morning brought up 10 questions
that would have choked its growth in coils of conservative
interpretation of the Constitution (Sudip Mazumdar vs Union of India).
However, some years later, another bench deftly deflected the attack
by “disposing of” the case without answering the loaded questions, and
the movement advanced with renewed vigour. Citizens applauded it.
Recently, another bench drafted a set of questions that threatened to
weaken the Supreme Court, which is said to be the mightiest under any
democratic system. The thrust of this new lot was to restrict the
powers of the court and leave the executive and the legislature alone
on the ground of “separation of powers” (University of Kerala vs
Council of Principals). This doctrine itself is undefined and has been
a subject of constant debate among jurists for about seven centuries
now. The Constitution of India does not recognise strict separation of
powers.
In this case, a bench had earlier set up a committee of distinguished
educationists and others to study the conduct of student union
elections in view of criminalisation of student politics. The panel
made some recommendations which the court asked the authorities to
implement. When the matter came up before the bench mentioned earlier,
the whole course of the case took a different turn. This bench raised
complex constitutional questions. In its opinion, the court could
neither legislate or take over executive functions, nor act as an
“interim Parliament”.
The two-judge bench formulated several issues regarding separation of
powers and the power of the court to direct executive authorities to
implement its recommendations. It asked the Chief Justice to set up a
Constitution Bench to address those issues. This could result in a
giant leap backwards on several counts.
The question whether a two-judge bench can refer questions directly to
a Constitution Bench, thus violating the court’s own practice and
discipline, is only procedural. But the most worrisome aspect of the
order is that it has the potential to undo many reformative steps
taken by the Supreme Court all these decades. The famous Vishaka case
(1997), for instance, laid down rules to protect women at workplace.
In the absence of government action, the duty fell upon the court to
“legislate” the rules. The government did not protest, and women
welcomed it. If the court now reverses its policy, the judgment would
have to be reviewed.
The government quivers at the thought of passing a legislation to
enable and regulate adoption of orphans. But it was the Supreme Court
that “legislated” rules in this regard. The government has since been
merely following the norms set by the Supreme Court judgment in the LK
Pandey case (1987) — it has not passed a law even after decades. Some
other fields in which the court has taken affirmative steps are
environment, unemployment and poverty alleviation. The nation welcomed
the court’s initiative as the executive and the legislature had failed
to enforce the fundamental rights of the citizens.
The view of this two-judge bench contradicts the established opinion
in scores of judgments delivered by larger benches. In the C
Ravichandran Iyer vs AM Bhattacharjee case (1995), the court said that
the role of a judge is not merely to interpret the law but also to lay
new norms of law and mould the law to suit the changing social and
economic scenario to make the ideals enshrined in the Constitution a
meaningful reality. Society demands active judicial role which was
earlier considered exceptional but is now a routine. This view has not
so far been doubted in any later judgment.
Renowned jurists have long accepted the role of judges as law-makers.
John Austin said: “I cannot understand how any person who had
considered the subject can suppose that society could possibly have
gone on if judges had not legislated, or that there is any danger
whatever in allowing them that power which they have in fact
exercised, to make up for the negligence or the incapacity of the
avowed legislator.”
The legal system in England, which has been adopted by India and other
common-law countries, is based largely on judge-made law until around
the 17th century. US Supreme Court judges recently observed that not
only their court, but even the subordinate courts make laws because
there are situations which are not covered by any law and the judges
have to fill up the crevices. The questions now posed in the Kerala
University case, therefore, appear not only redundant but also
incapable of answers.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/m-j-antony-in-reverse-gear/378287/
chhotemianinshallah
Subodh Varma, TNN 3 December 2009, 03:10am IST
NEW DELHI: On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Bhopal Gas
Disaster, the Madhya Pradesh high court at Jabalpur dealt another blow
to the victims in their quest for justice. The victims of the world's
biggest ever industrial disaster have received only about one-fifth of
the compensation promised to them under the 1989 agreement.
Stung by the injustice of this paltry compensation, the victims had
approached the apex court, which had approved the 1989 agreement. It
was only in 2004 that the Supreme Court admitted a plea by gas victims
seeking to reopen the compensation issue. Three years later, in 2007,
the court rejected it, asking the victims to approach the state
government.
An application was then filed before welfare commissioner R S Garg who
rejected it in January this year. The harried and desperate victims
knocked on the doors of the MP high court to quash this order. But the
HC turned it down on November 30.
``It's back to square one. We will go back to the Supreme Court
again,'' says N D Jayaprakash of the Bhopal Gas Peedith Sangharsh
Sahyog Samiti, which is one of the victims' organisations spearheading
the struggle.
The gas leak from Union Carbide's pesticide plant in Bhopal in 1984
killed an estimated 20,000 people and left over 5.69 lakh people with
a range of injuries and disabilities. In 1989, the Supreme Court
approved a settlement between the central government and Carbide under
which the company agreed to pay $470 million (Rs 713 crore in the
exchange rate of the day) as compensation and the government agreed to
drop all civil and criminal proceedings against it.
The government declared that this compensation amount was to be
distributed amongst 1,05,000 injured and kin of 3000 dead. It soon
became clear that this figure of casualties was a gross under-
estimate, arrived at without any survey. Yet the government went ahead
and distributed the same amount among five times the number originally
stated.
Of the Rs 713 crore paid by Carbide, Rs 113 crore was paid to people
who had suffered property or livestock damage. The remaining Rs 600
crore was distributed among nearly six lakh victims or family members
of those who died. On an average, each victim has received Rs 12,410.
In contrast, in the high profile Uphaar tragedy of 1997, in which
after a sustained legal battle for over six years, the kin of those
who died got Rs 15-18 lakh and the injured got Rs 1 lakh each. Victims
were also paid 9% interest for 6 years elapsed in the court case. In
the Bhopal case, no interest was paid.
Criminal cases against Union Carbide officials too are still pending
after they were reopened in 1991. A non-bailable warrant against
Warren Anderson, chairman of Union Carbide was issued in 1992 by a
Bhopal court but remains unserved. Anderson was arrested three days
after the disaster and bailed out immediately, after which he fled the
country never to return.
Dow Chemical Company, which bought Union Carbide in 2001 has refused
to take any responsibility for pending matters and when a Bhopal court
asked them to appear in court in 2005, they obtained a stay from the
high court
chhotemianinshallah
Subodh Varma, TNN 3 December 2009, 04:52am IST
Twenty-five years have passed since that night of terror and death in
Bhopal, which saw a cloud of deadly gases explode out of a faulty tank
in a pesticide factory and silently spread into the homes of sleeping
people. Although no official count of casualties has ever been done,
estimates based on hospital and rehabilitation records show that about
20,000 people died and about 5.7 lakh suffered bodily damage, making
it by far the world’s worst industrial disaster ever.
Many who breathed the highly toxic cocktail that night suffered a
horrible death with multiple organ failure. Those who survived have
suffered multiple diseases for 25 years. A report of the Gas Tragedy
Relief Department of the state says that the morbidity rate
(occurrence of ailments) is nearly 20% among gas-affected persons
compared to about 5% among the unaffected population.
Following the disaster, there was an international outcry for relief
for the victims and punishment to those responsible for the gas
leakage. The pesticide plant from where the gas leaked belonged to
Union Carbide India, a subsidiary of the US-based Union Carbide
Company. They were asked to pay compensation and arrange for medical
treatment. The matter immediately got embroiled in legal
controversies. Thus began a long and painful struggle of the victims
for compensation, medical attention and rehabilitation that has
spluttered along for a quarter century.
In February 1989, the Supreme Court announced that it was approving a
settlement for Bhopal victims under which Union Carbide agreed to pay
Rs 713 crore for compensation to victims, while the government agreed
to drop all criminal cases against it. However, due to intense public
shock and anger at letting off the culprits, the court agreed to
reopen the criminal cases in 1991. Two installments of compensation —
of up to Rs 25,000 each — have been given till now to the injured, one
in 1994 and the next in 2004.
N D Jayaprakash of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Sangharsh Sahyog Samiti
(BGPSSS), one of the groups fighting for the rights of gas victims,
calls this a massive fraud because the number of gas-affected persons
was arbitrarily fixed by the government at 105,000, including about
3,000 dead. In reality, nearly 20,000 people have died, and 5.7 lakh
have suffered injuries. The compensation amount — Rs 713 crore, paid
by Union Carbide — was meant for about 1 lakh persons but has been
distributed among nearly 6 lakh people. Of the Rs 713 crores, Rs 113
crores was for loss of livestock and property. The balance Rs 600
crore distributed among 5.74 lakh persons works out to about Rs 12,410
per victim on average. In contrast, in the Uphaar tragedy in Delhi,
families of those who died got between Rs 15 lakh to Rs 18 lakh each,
while injured persons got Rs 1 lakh each. In addition, they got
interest at the rate of 9% per annum for the roughly six years that
the legal proceedings took.
Stung by this injustice, the victims approached the apex court, which
told them to approach the state government. In Bhopal, the Welfare
Commissioner rejected their demand. They appealed to the MP high
court. On November 30 this year, the HC too dismissed the petition.
“We will go back to the Supreme Court,” says Jayaprakash.
Even after 25 years, gas victims are suffering serious health
problems. On an average, 6,000 gas-affected patients visit hospitals
in Bhopal every day, that is, about 2 million visits per year. The
government adopted a one-size-fits-all policy for categorisation of
injuries — a person with compromised lungs may ultimately develop
other diseases, besides being unable to work fully. But such
distinctions were not maintained and meagre compensation was doled
out. Sadhana Pradhan, who has worked among the gas victims since the
disaster in 1984 points out that no line of treatment was ever
evolved. “The government has treated the victims on an ad hoc basis,”
she says. Medical records are yet not centralized as recommended by
the monitoring committee set up by the Supreme Court in 2004. As a
result, doctors have no idea about the patients’ history. “This has
led to development of multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB in many cases,”
says Dr Saxena, who spent 11 years in the government’s TB hospital in
Bhopal.
Another dimension of the ongoing tragedy of Bhopal is the poisonous
chemical waste lying around in the abandoned premises of the pesticide
plant. Several committees have inspected it and found 44,000 kgs of
tarry residues and 25,000 kgs of alpha naphthol lying in the open
since 1984. Various studies have established that the soil, ground
water, vegetables and even breast milk have traces of toxic
chemicals.
Abdul Jabbar Khan of the Bhopal Gas Peedith Mahila Udyog Sangathan
(BGPMUS) says that actually there is much more poisonous waste, which
the company used to routinely bury in the premises since 1969. “There
is no piped water supply. People still use contaminated groundwater
daily,” he says.
chhotemianinshallah
Suchandana Gupta, TNN 2 December 2009, 04:43am IST
BHOPAL: Yet another report on the persisting disastrous effects of the
gas tragedy has claimed that the erstwhile pesticide factory of Union
Carbide, from where the toxic methyl isocyanate leaked 25 years ago,
has been contaminating the soil and underground water in Madhya
Pradesh’s capital.
The new report by New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment
(CSE) released here on Tuesday said the ‘‘groundwater in areas even 3
km away from the factory site contains almost 40 times more pesticides
than normal Indian standards’’. ‘‘Continuous intake of this
groundwater can have drastic effects on the human body,’’ CSE’s
director and activist Sunita Narain claimed. ‘‘This is like slow
poisoning.’’
According to Narain, the CSE pollution monitoring labs have tested
water and soil samples from in and around the Union Carbide factory
and found high concentration of pesticides and heavy metals inside the
factory premises as well as the groundwater outside. All 11
groundwater samples collected by CSE found large quantities of
mercury, chlorinated benzene compounds and organochlorine, said the
CSE report.
Earlier research conducted by the National Environmental Engineering
Research Institute (NEERI), Pollution Control Board, City
Environmental Laboratory (Boston) and environmental NGO Greenpeace
also found extremely high levels of toxins like carbaryl, lindane and
alpha napthol in the soil and water around the factory areas.
Residents of 18 gas-affected areas continue to consume the water that
hese surveys have termed ‘‘contaminated’’. In July 1998, Union Carbide
handed over the factory to the Union government with 8,000 tonne of
toxic effluent and 10,000 tonne of toxic silt in ponds. Former Union
Carbide employee T R Chouhan had told a US court that between 1969 and
1984, the factory had dumped over 1,900 tonne of chemicals in and
around the factory. Another 390 tonne of toxic waste, which was the
raw components for the pesticide, has been packed and kept for
disposal. NGOs claim that this poisonous waste has spread through the
soil and water making Bhopal gas tragedy ‘‘not a one-time but a
continuing disaster for human life”.
Union Carbide manufactured three kinds of pesticides in this factory
including Carbaryl (Sevin), Aldicarb (temik) and a third formula of
carbaryl with gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (Sevidol). ‘‘The plant used
heavy metals like mercury and chromium. Most of these products and
elements are persistent, toxic and harmful for the human body. We
decided to test for these chemicals. The water in Shiv Nagar, which is
3 km away from the factory, tested the highest concentration of
carbaryl at 0.011ppm which is 110 times the normal standard. Lindane
was found at 0.004 ppm, 40 times higher than normal and mercury was
0.024 ppm, 24 times greater than normal.’’ Narain said 25 years after
the worst industrial disaster, the Union government thinks that the
situation is far from alarming. She drew attention to the remarks by
Union minister of state for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh, who
had said: ‘‘I held the toxic waste in my hand. I am still alive and
not coughing. It’s 25 years after the gas tragedy. Let us move
ahead.’’
Narain argued that the Union government was ignorant about the
difference between acute toxicity and chronic toxicity. ‘‘No one has
explained to Jairam Ramesh that when victims inhaled the gas and died,
it was acute toxicity. Chronic toxicity, on the other hand, is a long-
term slow poisoning. We are talking about chronic toxicity and its
harmful effects on the body,’’ she said.
chhotemianinshallah
IANS 2 December 2009, 01:51pm IST
BANGALORE: The deadly methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas released by the
Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal this day 25 years ago affected
even the unborn, researchers say.
The toxic gas altered the immune system of those who were still in
their mothers' wombs when the disaster struck, according to a recent
study by researchers at the Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research
Centre (BMHRC) in Bhopal.
"Our study shows, for the first time, that in-utero MIC exposure
during the Bhopal gas tragedy has caused a persistent immune system
hyper-responsiveness in affected individuals," Pradyumna Kumar Mishra
told IANS. The findings have been published in the journal
Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Whether this "immune hyper-responsiveness" has any clinical
implications will be clear only after follow-up of the exposed
individuals, the BMHRC researcher said.
The release of 30-40 tonnes of MIC spreading over approximately 75 sq
km killed at least 3,500 and injured thousands more. There are more
than 500,000 registered survivors of the tragedy, Mishra said.
The survivors continue to experience higher incidence of health
problems, including respiratory, neurological, psychiatric and
ophthalmic symptoms, Mishra said.
To understand the long-term implications of MIC exposure, doctors at
BMHRC have conducted chromosomal studies in cultured mammalian cells
using MIC as an experimental agent. "The results of the study have
provided evidence to hitherto unknown molecular mechanisms of
immunotoxic consequences of MIC exposure at a genomic level," he
said.
According to Mishra, MIC had played havoc with the reproductive health
of women and their girl children.
Menstrual abnormalities, vaginal discharge and premature menopause
have emerged as common problems. "Besides affecting the reproductive
health of the women, these conditions are also leading to social
problems in conservative communities," he said.
Mishra said that investigations conducted so far at BMHRC and other
places have raised a new question: for how long the gas victims would
continue to suffer from multi-system disorders and whether future
generations would also be affected by these abnormalities.
"In-depth molecular studies of ocular, respiratory, reproductive,
immunological, genetic and psychological health must be continued if
we wish to understand the extent and severity of long-term effects
associated with the disaster," Mishra said.
He pointed out that the importance of such experimental studies cannot
be understated "since any alterations at genomic level can have long-
term health consequences that may range from accelerated ageing,
carcinogenesis, immuno-compromised states and, more importantly,
vertical transmission of genetic aberrations."
chhotemianinshallah
Suchandana Gupta, TNN 1 December 2009, 05:25am IST
BHOPAL: Eighty-year-old Maqsuda Bi still comes and stands outside the
welfare commissioner’s office, asking to be compensated like other
victims of the deadly methylisocynate gas that swirled through this
erstwhile city of nawabs 25 years ago, killing an estimated 20,000
people and maiming 5,69,160.
‘‘I have all the relevant papers including my ration card and doctors’
prescriptions. Everyone in my family, including my grandchildren, have
got compensation. Why have I been ignored?’’ she asks. The
‘‘compensation’’, of course, was so paltry that it had led to a fresh
round of litigations.
‘‘I was with my family that night in our house in Ashoka Garden. My
husband’s lungs were badly damaged and he was bed-ridden for 10 years
coughing blood. He died in 1995. I am still fighting for my due,’’ she
told TOI. Badli Bai (50) of Rajendra Nagar has a similar story. Her
file was lost from the settlement court. She has the documents to
prove herself a victim. The doctors certified that her lungs were
damaged. She received interim relief of Rs 200 per month after the gas
leak, but not a paisa after that.
‘‘I am diseased. No gas victim stays healthy. We all suffer from
numerous ailments. I need the money to buy medicines. Hospitals won’t
treat me for free unless I am a confirmed gas victim. The only proof
of this is if one gets compensation. But the court says my file is
lost,’’ Badli Bai says. While there are more than 40 cases regarding
non-payment of compensation to victims before the high court since
2004, victims’ NGOs are still filing petitions arguing that the
recompense was insufficient and delayed.
‘‘The Centre got into a settlement with the Union Carbide Corporation,
USA, without the victims’ consent,’’ said Hamida Bi, a gas victim and
activist. ‘‘Carbide paid Rs 713 crore (at 1989 prices) on the
assumption that only 3,000 persons had died and 1,05,000 were injured.
The actual figure is five times more. The government admitted that
4,69,367 victims were kept out of the settlement.
“The compensation amount that was to be distributed among 1,08,000
persons has now been disbursed among 15,200 dead and 5,69,160 injured.
The average compensation works out to Rs 12,410 per victim at the 1989
value of the rupee. Compared to this, the US government paid an
average of $1.8 million per victim of 9/11,’’ she adds.
‘‘Those who died that night were fortunate,’’ said Husna Bano of Aish
Bagh, adding, ‘‘The gas leak left us like walking corpses. I had a
seven kg fibroid in my stomach which left the doctors researching on
the after-effects of MIC. I do some stitching work to run the family.
If I earn Rs 50, I spend Rs 35 on treatment. We spend more money on
medicine than on food.’’
‘Doctors treat us like untouchables’
BHOPAL: Rafiq Khan (52) endured the lethal billow of methyl isocyanate
(MIC) gas that leaked out of the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal on
December 3, 1984. Twenty-five years later, Khan, who is now also a
diabetic, continues to suffer from severe pulmonary ailment as,
ironically, a hospital meant for thousands left critically ill by MIC
exposure, has shut its door on him.
‘‘Doctors don’t even talk to us. My father has the documents including
the victim ID, but the hospital — Bhopal Memorial Hospital and
Research Centre — treats us like untouchables and refuses to admit
him,’’ alleged Khan’s son, Faizan. ‘‘We can’t even sit near the
doctor; the hospital staff is so highhanded,’’ alleged Faizan. Faizan
said Khan also suffers from kidney dysfunction and needs dialysis
twice a week. ‘‘I work as a van driver and need Rs 2,000 weekly for
dialysis to keep my father alive. We’ve sold our valuables and
borrowed Rs 60,000. People have stopped giving credit because they
know we can’t pay back,’’ he said.
He said Khan was diagnosed with kidney dysfunction last year and put
on dialysis just twice and then discharged. ‘‘Since then, they have
refused to put him on dialysis despite the fact that the hospital is
meant for the gas victims,’’ he said. ‘‘The victims are entitled for a
lifetime of medical treatment at the hospital, but we were refused a
third dialysis.’’
He said far from curing him, the hospital’s faulty laser operation
left him blind and the family had to get his eyes operated at a
private hospital.
chhotemianinshallah
IANS 2 December 2009, 01:55pm IST
NEW DELHI: Going beyond film screenings and photo exhibitions,
survivors of the Bhopal gas leak started a campaign here, appealing to
the youth not to work for Dow Chemicals, the company that has bought
Union Carbide, which was responsible for the disaster 25 years ago.
"The campaign hopes to sensitise them about an issue which seems to be
remote and unconnected with them. Through this initiative, we aim to
inspire the young brigade to respond to the appeal and pledge saying,
'we won't work for Dow'," Javed Naqi of the International Campaign for
Justice in Bhopal told IANS.
He said this would "pressurise Dow to meet the demands of the victims
in Bhopal in a speedier and transparent manner".
The Bhopal gas leak -- the world's worst industrial disaster -- took
place the night between Dec 2-3, 1984, when tonnes of methyl
isocyanate spewed out of the Union Carbide pesticide plant, killing
more than 3,500 people instantly and maiming thousands more.
Children of survivors of the Bhopal gas leak Tuesday started a three-
day caravan campaign, called Bhopal Blues on Wheels, in Delhi in which
they will visit several colleges, telling stories of the disaster and
showcasing a mobile photo exhibition to commemorate the 25th
anniversary.
Naqi said the purpose of the pledge campaign was much more that just
getting victims' justice.
"It also focuses on raising our voices against irresponsibility of big
corporates towards people and the environment and that we need to take
action now to prevent more such Bhopals from happening in future apart
from raising the cry for justice for the people of Bhopal," he said.
chhotemianinshallah
Suchandana Gupta, TNN 15 September 2009, 02:27am IST
BHOPAL: Annoyed over Union minister of state for forests and
environment Jairam Ramesh's remarks over the world's worst industrial
disaster that killed over 15,000 people and left more than 5 lakh
victims 25 years ago, Bhopal gas victims on Monday burned his effigy
alleging he behaved like "a spokesman of Union Carbide Corporation''.
The minister on his visit to the closed UCC factory in Bhopal on
Saturday had picked up a handful of toxic waste in the premises and
said: "I held the toxic waste in my hand. I'm still alive and not
coughing.'' Later he said the "truth'' about the gas tragedy and how
it occurred were "extremely complex'' and "uncomfortable''. He also
advised 25 years after the tragedy, it was time to move on.
On Monday the gas victims backed by NGOs took out a protest march and
burned the minister's effigy. They alleged by making irresponsible
comments, he was weakening the criminal case against the American
multinational company and its senior executives which is under trial.
They said they would send complaints to President Pratibha Patil,
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi about
Ramesh's remarks. "We have been fighting for justice for a quarter of
a century. Instead of supporting us in our struggle for justice
against a killer American multinational, our politicians have
constantly betrayed us,'' said Hamida Bi, a gas victim.
"They did not arrest Union Carbide chairman Warren Anderson when he
came to India right after the incident... again they failed to
extradite and bring him to our courts to face trail. We have seen our
children die and cough blood for years. How can our ministers be so
insensitive. Is he (Jairam) ridiculing our suffering?'' Hamida asked.
"We suffer from chronic pulmonary diseases, fight cancer and have
physically challenged children. How can he ask us to just forget and
move on? We have been neglected by our own governments because 90% of
the victims come from economically weaker sections. Could any minister
make a similar comment about Delhi's Uphar cinema victims or 9/11
casualties? Why this discrimination?'' she asked.
NGOs feared Ramesh's comments could weaken the criminal cases against
UCC in district courts, the Madhya Pradesh high court and the Supreme
Court. "There is an affidavit filed by the Union government. CBI has
filed a chargesheet against three companies and nine top UCC
officials,'' said Bhopal Gas Peedith Mahila Udyog Sangathan convener
Abdul Jabbar.
"In the chargesheet, CBI pointed out 32 defects in the pesticides
plant. It also mentions about `no maintenance and several small
accidents' which had occurred before that night of December 2-3, 1984.
Recently, the court issued a fresh arrest warrant against Anderson.
Under these circumstances, if a Union minister says that the truth
about the gas tragedy is complicated and it's time to move on, it not
only hurts the sentiments of the victims but harms the criminal
case.'' Jabbar said.
bademiyansubhanallah
IANS First Published : 03 Dec 2009 12:09:42 AM IST
Last Updated : 03 Dec 2009 12:13:54 AM IST
BHOPAL: As the sun went down on Bhopal Wednesday, victims of the gas
tragedy set out on a torch light rally from one landmark, Bhopal
Talkies, to another unfortunate landmark - the now defunct Union
Carbide factory.
The procession was taken out by the Bhopal Group of Information and
Action (BGIA) - working for victims of the gas disaster that occurred
at the factory exactly 25 years ago - and groups affiliated to it.
"People living next to the Union Carbide factory - where the ground
water is contaminated by poison from the hazardous chemical waste of
the factory - will also join the march while the children who were
poisoned by contaminated ground water form a prominent part of the
rally," said Rachna Dhingra of the BGIA.
Another torch light profession was taken out separately by Bhopal Gas
Peedit Mahila Udhyog Sangathan (BGPMUS) led by activist Abdul Jabbar.
"Since Mashaal (torch) means Jaagte Raho (keep awake), our procession
is aimed at appealing to the people to beware of the designs of
various governments who are soft on Union Carbide, which has taken the
lives of thousands of people and even now people are still dying,"
Jabbar said.
The organisations condemned the union government for its alleged
failure to take action on the non-bailable arrest warrant issued in
July this year against Warren Anderson, former chairman of Union
Carbide.
The survivors have also been demanding immediate setting up of an
Empowered Commission on Bhopal gas tragedy for long-term medical care,
economic and social rehabilitation and supply of safe drinking water,
besides cleaning up of the hazardous waste.
They said that 15 months have passed since the prime minister gave a
written promise regarding setting up the commission, but it has not
yet been formed.
"The problems that we faced at the time of the gas tragedy are nothing
in comparison to what we are facing now. The government is not
providing us with proper medicines. We don't have money to get
ourselves treated by private doctors. The situation is just worsening
now," said Sayyed Irfan, a victim of the gas tragedy.
Thousands of tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC) spewed out of the Union
Carbide factory on the night of Dec 2-3, 1984, killing over 3,500
people instantly and maiming several thousands for life.
bademiyansubhanallah
K.S. Jayaraman First Published : 02 Dec 2009 08:40:11 PM IST
(K.S. Jayaraman can be contacted at kill...@hotmail.com)
IANS
Sid Harth
View as Slide Show
New Delhi: A quarter century after the world's worst industrial
disaster killed thousands in Bhopal, India is yet to extradite the
main accused, American Warren Anderson. In a case that seems to be
going nowhere, India issued a fresh arrest warrant in July this year
and the Ministry of External Affairs is pursuing the matter with the
US administration, officials here said.
"Anderson never appeared before the court to face trial. Therefore,
his extradition request was sent to the external affairs ministry Sep
23, 1993. It was remitted back by the US on May 9, 2002, requesting us
to re-examine the matter," Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
director Ashwini Kumar said.
Image: Inside the killer factory
Text: IANS
Images: Anil Gulati
A few months later we again sent a revised extradition request along
with an arrest warrant,' Kumar explained. 'A fresh arrest warrant was
again issued against him in July 2009. We are pursuing his extradition
matter with the US authorities through the foreign ministry. His trail
has been separated from the rest of accused.'
Anderson was chief executive officer of the Union Carbide Corp (UCC),
now owned by Dow Chemical Co, when tonnes of poisonous methyl-
isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal
on the night of Dec 2, 1984, killing over 3,500 people instantly.
Thousands were severely injured and handicapped. NGOs estimate that
the death toll rose sharply to 10,000 within 72 hours and that the
number now stands at over 25,000.
Image: Statue built outside the Union carbide factory brings out the
pain of wailing mother and her two children
Bhopal water still toxic, 25 years on: study
The Union Carbide India Ltd (UCIL) factory was set up in 1969. In
UCIL, 50.9 percent was owned by Union Carbide Corp (UCC) and 49.1
percent by Indian investors, including public sector financial
institutions.
The CBI chief said it was found during investigation that UCC was to
provide safety measures to store MIC as well as its operating
standards to UCIL.
'But due to inherent defects in the design of the UCIL plant, which
were in the knowledge of the accused persons, MIC gas leaked,
resulting in the death of (thousands of) human beings and numerous
animals besides causing grievous injuries to thousands,' Kumar said.
Image: Picture of the Union carbide factory after many years
Indians still haunted by worst industrial accident
After the disaster, a case was registered by the Madhya Pradesh police
against officials of UCIL. It was transferred to the CBI on Dec 6,
1984.
Three years later, the CBI filed its charge sheet in the court of the
additional session judge in Bhopal under Indian Penal Code sections
304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 324 (voluntarily
causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 326 (voluntarily causing
grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 429 (mischief by
killing, poisoning, maiming animals) against Anderson and seven other
people.
Image: She was 15 years old and was a polio victim when the gas
tradegy stuck. She lost her father thereafter and was staying with her
mother, who also was victim of gas tradegy, who she also lost few
months back. She stays in one room house which was made for gas
victims but living now is difficult. She on her own never got any
relief as papers were not in order. She survives on Rs 275 per month
pension she gets as she was disabled. She suffers from the breathing
problem till date.
Gas tragedy leaves legacy of 'Bhopal brides' 25 years on
However, the Supreme Court later amended the charges to sections 304-A
(causing death by negligence), 336 (acts endangering life or personal
safety of others), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or
personal safety of others) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by acts
endangering life or personal safety of others).
Following the apex court direction, the court of the chief judicial
magistrate in Bhopal framed the charges afresh.
Image: slogans painted over the walls near the main gate
Survivors of Bhopal gas tragedy launch weeklong protest
The CBI chief said that during the trial, 178 prosecution witnesses
were examined and 3,008 documents exhibited. In November 2005, the
prosecution evidence was closed and statements of the accused were
recorded under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
'The case is now pending at the stage of defence evidence,' he added.
Nityanand Jayaraman, a social activist working for the Bhopal gas
victims, said not a single accused had been sentenced so far.
Image: Painting, which is painted on the wall behind the statue to
mark 25 years of struggle and pain by art makers.
Bhopal gas survivors mark 25 years of agony
'The judiciary is moving at an astonishing slow pace. All the Indian
accused are out on bail and Anderson does not appear before the court.
He is enjoying the government's protection as India does not want to
upset the US,' Jayaraman said.
'All the time we hear that the government is trying to extradite
Anderson through the external affairs ministry. But nothing happens
because of the lack of political will. Our government has separate
policies for different people. They did everything to extradite
mobster Abu Salem but have not moved even an inch to get Anderson,' he
added.
Image: Children climb over the broken wall on which slogan is painted
to see inside the factory premise.
Victims of Bhopal gas tragedy criticize move to open factory premises
bademiyansubhanallah
A Cloud Still Hangs Over Bhopal
By SUKETU MEHTA
Published: December 2, 2009
IN the Mumbai kindergarten my son went to, the children never had to
clean up after themselves; that was the servants’ job. So I really
liked the school my son attended when we moved back to Brooklyn, where
the teachers made the children tidy up at the end of the day. “Cleanup
time, cleanup time!” my 6-year-old sang, joyfully gathering his
scraps. It’s a wonderful American tradition: you always clean up the
mess you made.
This is the 25th anniversary of the Bhopal gas disaster, an epic mess
that started one night when a pesticide plant owned by the American
chemical giant Union Carbide leaked a cloud of poisonous gas. Before
the sun rose, almost 4,000 human beings capable of love and anguish
sank to their knees and did not get up. Half a million more fell ill,
many with severely damaged lungs and eyes.
An additional 15,000 people have since died from the aftereffects, and
10 to 30 people are said to die every month from exposure to the
hundreds of tons of toxic waste left over in the former factory. But
amazingly, the site still has not been cleaned up, because Dow
Chemical, which since acquired Union Carbide, refuses to accept any
responsibility. The groundwater is contaminated; children of the
survivors suffer from genetic abnormalities; and the victims have long
since run out of their measly compensation and are begging on the
streets.
I have traveled to Bhopal and seen the post-apocalyptic devastation,
seen the sick, seen the factory. Methyl isocyanate is a deadly
chemical used to kill insects. The night that 40 tons of it wafted out
of the factory is, for the survivors, a fulcrum in time, marking the
before and after in their lives. They still talk about “the gas” as if
it were an organism they know well — how it killed buffalo and pigs,
but spared chickens; how it traveled toward Jahangirabad and Hamidia
Road, while ignoring other parts of the city; how it clung to the wet
earth in some places but hovered at waist level in others; how it
blackened all the leaves of a peepul tree; how they could watch it
move down the other side of the road, like a rain cloud seen from a
sunny spot.
All over India, when misfortune strikes — when a child is ill, for
example — people burn chilies to drive away the evil eye. The gas
smelled like chilies burning, and people said to one another, it must
be a powerfully evil eye that’s being driven away, the stench is so
strong.
Fleeing the gas, the Bhopalis clutched their children. Some babies
fell, gasping, and their parents had to choose which ones to carry on
their shoulders. One image still comes up over and over in their
dreams: in the stampede, a thousand people are stepping on their
child’s body.
In 2001, the maker of napalm married the bane of Bhopal: Dow Chemical
bought Union Carbide for $11.6 billion and promptly distanced itself
from the disaster. If Union Carbide was at fault, that was too bad; it
had just ceased to exist. In 2002, Dow set aside $2.2 billion to cover
potential liabilities arising from Union Carbide’s American asbestos
production. By comparison, the total settlement for Bhopal was $470
million. The families of the dead got an average of $2,200; the
wounded got $550; a Dow spokeswoman explained, that amount “is plenty
good for an Indian.” As Representative Frank Pallone of New Jersey
observed in 2006, “In Bhopal, some of the world’s poorest people are
being mistreated by one of the world’s richest corporations.”
Union Carbide and Dow were allowed to get away with it because of the
international legal structures that protect multinationals from
liability. Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary and pulled out of
India. Warren Anderson, the Union Carbide chief executive at the time
of the gas leak, lives in luxurious exile in the Hamptons, even though
there’s an international arrest warrant out for him for culpable
homicide. The Indian government has yet to pursue an extradition
request. Imagine if an Indian chief executive had jumped bail for
causing an industrial disaster that killed tens of thousands of
Americans. What are the chances he’d be sunning himself in Goa?
The Indian government, fearful of scaring away foreign investors, has
not pushed the issue with American authorities. Dow has used a kind of
blackmail with the Indians; a 2006 letter from Andrew Liveris, the
chief executive, to India’s ambassador to the United States asked for
guarantees that Dow would not be held liable for the cleanup, and
thanked him for his “efforts to ensure that we have the appropriate
investment climate.”
What’s missing in the whole sad story is any sense of a human
connection between the faceless people who run the corporation and the
victims. In 1995, a Bhopali woman named Sajida Bano sent a handwritten
letter to Union Carbide. The factory had killed her husband in 1981 in
an accident, and then, on the night of the disaster, her 4-year-old
son. “You put your hand on your heart and think,” she wrote, “if you
are a human being: if this happened to you, how would your wife and
children feel?” She never received a response.
The survivors of Bhopal want only to be treated as human beings — not
victims, not greedy money-grabbers, just human beings who’ve gone
through hell and are entitled to a measure of dignity. That includes
concrete things like cleaning up the mess and providing health care
for the sick, and also something more abstract but equally important —
an acknowledgment that a wrong was done to them, and an apology, which
Bhopalis have yet to receive.
That was another fine thing my son learned in the Brooklyn school:
when you’ve done something bad, you should say you’re sorry. After a
quarter of a century, Dow should acknowledge that it is responsible
for a very big mess. And now, it’s cleanup time.
Suketu Mehta, a journalism professor at New York University, is the
author of “Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/opinion/03mehta.html?ref=opinion